You're Mine Twice
by Supreme-King-of-Awesomeness
Summary: Jaden and Alexis had perfect lives, but when Alexis moves away, what becomes of their friendship? Will they recognize each other when they meet again? Can they over come Duel Academy's demons? Or will their personal feelings get in the way? Chapter 18 up! 4/17/18
1. Beginning

Supreme: I need to stick to one story….

Zane: aren't you working on some one-shot?

Supreme: …

Zane: *sigh* **Supreme King of Awesomeness does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX** please enjoy the story that might take a while to finish

Supreme: jerk!

_**XxX**_

Two 5-year-olds were running around in the front yard of one of their houses. Their parents were watching them with smiles on their faces.

"Hurry, Lexi, or you'll never catch me! Ha, ha!" a small brunet boy said playfully. He was Jaden Yuki. A small blonde girl ran after him.

"If you would wait for me than I can catch you!" she said, pouting. She was Alexis Rhodes.

"But it wouldn't be tag if I waited for you!" Alexis pouted and sat on the grass.

"You promised you would always wait for me!" Jaden ran back to her and stood in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Lexi… I thought that you weren't supposed to wait for the person it… I didn't know…" Alexis stood up and poked his arm. She smiled.

"You're it." She ran away as fast as her short legs could carry her.

"No fair!" Jaden yelled, running after her. After a few minutes, their parents called them in for dinner. "Come on, Alexis, it's time for dinner, and I'm hungry!" Jaden said, pulling Alexis to her feet.

"But, Jaden, I'm tired…" Alexis said softly.

"The house isn't far!" Alexis pouted but complied. They walked to Jaden's house and sat at the table.

"Did you two wash your hands?" Jaden's mom Janice asked the two small children. Jaden and Alexis looked at their hands and smiled.

"Maybe," they answered. Janice sighed and picked up Jaden in her arms as Alexis's mom Amber picked up Alexis.

"Atty, sweetheart, did you wash your hands?" Amber asked her son. Atticus, a 7-year-old brunet boy, nodded. He had medium-length hair that went down to his ears. His bangs barely hit his eyebrows.

"Can I start eating, yet?" he asked. Amber looked at Janice, who nodded.

"Go ahead and start eating. I'll be right back." Amber and Janice carried the two 5-year-olds to the bathroom. They washed their hands and walked back downstairs. Atticus was on top of his chair trying to get some more soup from the pot. He got some in the ladle and was about to pour it in his bowl when he slipped.

"Atticus!" Janice yelled, setting Jaden down. Atticus slipped and soup fell on his head. Janice walked to him with Amber following.

"Are you okay, Atty?" Alexis asked, walking over with Jaden.

"That looked like it hurt lots…" Jaden said. Atticus smiled sheepishly as his mother wiped soup out of his hair with a paper towel.

"I'm okay. I just wanted more soup…" Atticus answered.

"Why didn't you just come and ask us?" Janice asked the young Rhodes boy.

"I didn't wanna bother you…" Amber sighed.

"You weren't going to bother us. Sweetheart… next time just ask, okay?" Atticus nodded. After they ate, the visiting family was getting ready to go home.

"I don't want you to leave, Lexi!" Jaden said, hugging the blonde.

"I don't wanna leave, either… but I have to…" Alexis said, hugging him back. "I'll be back tomorrow!" Jaden frowned.

"Why can't you stay?"

"Mommy said it's time to go, Jaden…" Their parents were talking so they didn't notice Alexis lean over and peck Jaden on the cheek. "Bye, Jaden."

"Bye, Alexis. Will I see you tomorrow?" Jaden asked. Alexis smiled.

"I said I'd be back tomorrow, right?" Jaden smiled.

"Okay! Bye, Lexi! I'll see you tomorrow!" Alexis smiled wider and hugged Jaden again. Jaden hugged back.

"Bye, Jaden!" Alexis repeated. She ran over to her mother and left the house with her and her brother. They waved back at the Yukis and got in their car. They drove away back to their home.

"C'mon, Jaden, it's time for bed," Janice said, picking Jaden up.

"But I'm not sleepy," Jaden said, yawning. Janice giggled.

"Sure, you aren't, Jay-Jay." She carried the sleepy boy up to his bedroom.

_~Next Day~_

As promised, Alexis came back the next day but not as happy as she was yesterday. Jaden ran outside and grabbed her hand.

"C'mon, Lex, let's go and—"

"Jaden, sweetie, we aren't going to be her for a long time…" Amber said sadly. Janice walked outside.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"We're moving away," Amber replied, frowning.

"W-what…?" Jaden asked devastated. Alexis looked at him and cried. "Lexi… is… is it true…?"

"I don't wanna leave…" Alexis said. Jaden looked at the floor. Janice frowned.

"I just finished baking cookies. Why don't you stay for a while?" she asked. Alexis and Jaden looked up.

"Can we get some?" they asked in unison. Janice smiled.

"Of course, you can. Go inside and get some. They're on the table." The two ran inside.

"Can I have some cookies?" Atticus asked.

"Sure, you can. Just hurry before Jaden eats them all." Atticus ran inside. Amber and Janice smiled and walked inside to find Jaden and Atticus playing rock-paper-scissors over the last cookie. While they weren't looking, Alexis grabbed the cookie and started eating it. Jaden looked at Alexis for support on his loss but gawked at her instead.

"Alexis!" he yelled.

"What?" she asked.

"That cookie was supposed to be for me!"

"Sorry, Jaden…" Jaden smiled and hugged her.

"Okay, Lexi, you can have it." Amber smiled at them.

"We can stay one more day," she whispered to Janice. Janice smiled.

"Wanna bite?" Alexis asked Jaden, who nodded. She handed it to Jaden, who gladly accepted. He took a big bite out of the cookie. "Hey! I didn't mean all of it!"

"I didn't eat all of it… I took a bite," Jaden said, smiling.

"Okay…" Alexis smiled back at him and ate the rest of the cookie.

_~Next Morning~_

The Rhodes had decided to stay overnight, and they were scheduled to leave at 10 a.m. Amber and Janice were walking to Jaden's room, talking.

"So, why exactly are you moving?" Janice asked.

"Mark got a job promotion in another city. I wanted to bring Alexis and Atticus with so they won't grow up barely knowing their father," Amber answered.

"I understand." They walked into Jaden's room and saw him cuddling with Alexis fast asleep.

"Aw!" the two mothers cooed quietly. Amber walked over to them and carefully picked Alexis up without waking Jaden or Alexis. Jaden simply turned to his other side. Alexis snuggled into her mother's shoulder.

"I feel so bad doing this," Amber said. "They won't even get to say good-bye."

"It's something you need to do. She'll understand when she's older," Janice said, trying to comfort her friend.

'_I'm sorry, Alexis,'_ Amber apologized in her thoughts. She pulled Atticus out of bed and headed to the airport. Alexis woke up shortly after they boarded the plane. She looked around and saw her mother sitting next to her.

"Mommy," Alexis said. Amber turned to her. "Where's Jaden?"

"He's at home," Amber answered.

"Where are we?"

"We're on a plane, sweetie."

"Where's my stuff?"

"I packed it already before going to Jaden's house. It was in the car already."

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to be with Daddy in Domino City."

"Is Jaden coming with us?"

"No, not this time…" Alexis started crying.

"But Jaden's my best friend… w-why isn't he coming…?"

"He can't, Alexis…" Alexis cried and rested her head on her mother's shoulder. "I'm sorry…" Amber hugged her child tightly.

_~With Jaden~_

Jaden woke up and saw… an empty space next to him. He could have sworn that Alexis was next to him when he fell asleep last night.

"She must've gotten breakfast," he said to himself. He walked downstairs and saw only his mother in the kitchen. "Mommy, where's Lexi?"

"She left," Janice told him.

"Left where?"

"She went on a plane to Domino City."

"Why did she do that?"

"She's going to be with her daddy."

"… So Lexi… left me…" Jaden started tearing up. Janice stood up and kneeled in front of him.

"Don't cry, Jay-Jay." Jaden sniffled.

"I-I'm not crying…" Jaden tried wiping his tears. Janice pulled him into a hug. Jaden broke down and poured out tears. "Why did she leave?"

"You're gonna be okay." Jaden started crying harder over the loss of his best friend.

"I miss her already…"

"I miss her, too, but remember something for me, okay, Jaden?" Jaden sniffled and looked up at her.

"W-what is it?"

"She'll always be with you no matter what. Right in here," Janice said, pointing to Jaden's heart. Jaden smiled and hugged his mother.

"Thanks, Mommy."

"You're welcome, Jaden."

_**XxX**_

Supreme: I feel horrible now

Zane: good. You just tore apart two best friends. How do you feel?

Supreme: I just said horrible!

Zane: oh, yeah… Anyway, review!

Supreme: you will make me _**VERY**_ happy!


	2. Getting Over It

Supreme: Hello!

Zane: what do you want!

Supreme: *sniffling* I-I just wanted to bring the next chapter to you…

Zane: *sigh* okay… I'll do the disclaimer…

Supreme: Yay!

Zane: **Supreme King of Awesomeness does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX** enjoy…

_**XxX**_

After Alexis left a few days ago, Jaden became depressed and barely left his room. He only came down for meals. He barely ate even when he came down. Eventually, Jaden just hauled enough food to last him the week before coming back down to get some for the next week. Janice tried several times to talk to him, but his door was locked, and when it was open, Jaden was asleep. He cried himself to sleep every night since Alexis left.

"I need to talk to him," Janice said to herself. She walked to her son's room and knocked on the door.

No response.

"Jaden, sweetheart, can I come in?" Janice heard a muffled reply. She turned the knob and opened the door, surprised that it was open. She saw Jaden lying on his bed with his back turned to her. She walked to his bed and sat next to her son. "Do you wanna talk?" She stroked his brown hair with a sad expression.

"No…" Jaden mumbled. He rolled over to face his mother. "When is Lexi coming back?" Janice frowned and rested next to him.

"I don't know, sweetheart…" Tears welled up in Jaden's eyes.

"_Is_ she coming back…?"

"I don't know…"

"I miss her, Mommy…" Janice stroked his hair which normally comforted him.

"I miss her, too…"

"Is she gonna come visit…?"

"She might…"

"Mommy…" Jaden said softly.

"Yes?" Janice asked.

"My chest hurts…"

"Where does it hurt?" Jaden clutched the left side of his chest. "You just miss Lexi a lot…"

"Why did she leave me…? Did I do something wrong…?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, Jaden. Her daddy has to go somewhere else."

"Doesn't he like me? He let me be friends with Lexi…"

"It's not that he doesn't like you, he just has to go."

"Why?"

"So Lexi and Atty can stay at their house and have food to eat." Jaden's eyes lit up like Christmas lights.

"I know! Lexi and Atty can stay here with us!"

"She can't."

"Why?"

"There's no room for them here."

"Lexi can stay in my room. Atty can stay in Daddy's old room, and you and Lexi's mommy can share a room!" Janice smiled at him.

"We can't do that."

"Why?"

"How do we get the food for them?"

"We get it at the store."

"Where do we get the money?"

"… Do we get it from a tree? My friend says that a tree with green stuff on it is in his yard! He says the green stuff is money! Maybe he can give us some!"

"Jaden, the green stuff is leaves."

"Can't we give them leaves for the food?"

"No, we can't."

"So… the green stuff isn't money?"

"No."

"… Then he lied to me?"

"No, he just mistook it for money."

"I don't know where money comes from then…"

"I'm sorry, sweetie… maybe you and Alexis will meet again later!"

"How long is later?"

"It could be a few days, weeks, months, or maybe years…" Jaden sat up instantly.

"That's not long!" Janice smiled at him and sat up.

"Maybe not… Come on, let's go get some ice-cream then maybe you'll feel better!" Jaden jumped out of bed.

"Hurry, Mommy! Before all the ice-cream gets taken away!" Jaden raced downstairs. Janice giggled and followed him to the car.

_~With Alexis~_

Alexis was walking with her brother and father to the grocery store since Amber caught a cold. Alexis grabbed her dad's hand.

"Daddy," she said.

"Yes, Alexis?" her dad Mark asked.

"Why did we leave Jaden? I miss him."

"I had to so I can make more money and keep our house and get food for us."

"Will we visit Jaden soon?"

"We might."

"When is that?"

"Maybe next summer we can visit him."

"But that's so far from today!" Mark picked her up and looked at her.

"We'll visit him soon. You'll be okay."

"I miss him."

"We all miss him. Atticus misses him, too, right?" Atticus nodded and looked at Alexis.

"Don't worry, Sissy!" he said. "Jaden misses you, too! You and Jaden will always be friends!" Alexis smiled and hugged her dad.

"Thanks, Atty," she said.

"Can you pick me up, too, Daddy?" Atticus asked.

"You want me to pick you up too! Atty, you're heavy!" Mark said playfully. Alexis giggled and pointed at her brother.

"I told you, Atty, you _are_ heavy!" she said. Mark pushed finger down.

"Pointing is rude, Lexi," he told her. "Say sorry to him."

"Sorry, Atty," Alexis said. Atticus smiled.

"I forgive you!" Atticus said happily. Mark smiled and picked him up and walked into the grocery store.

"What are we gonna buy?" he asked his two kids.

"Ice-cream!" Atticus yelled.

"No, we can't have ice-cream!" Mark said playfully.

"Medicine for Mommy," Alexis suggested.

"Oh, yeah, Sissy's right. Mommy needs medicine," Atticus said.

"Alright, then we're getting medicine," Mark confirmed, walking to the pharmacist.

"Hi, how can I help you?" the pharmacist asked.

"I need some medicine for my wife. She just caught a cold, but I'm new to this area. Could you show me where it is?" Mark asked.

"Of course, I can!" The pharmacist went around her desk and led them to the medicine area of the store. "Is that all?"

"Ye-"

"Do you know where the ice-cream is?" Atticus asked, cutting off his dad. The pharmacist giggled.

"It's two isles away from here to your right, sweetie," she said, smiling.

"Thank you!"

"Your kids are so cute!" Mark smiled.

"Thank you!" he said, imitating his son. He gave a big, toothy smile to his son, who smiled and laughed.

_~With Jaden~_

"Thanks for the ice-cream, Mommy!" Jaden thanked, walking away with his mom.

"You're welcome, Jaden," Janice said.

"So when do I see Lexi again?"

"I'm not sure, but maybe you'll see her again soon."

"Tomorrow will I see her?"

"You probably won't see her tomorrow."

"Okay… but soon, right?"

"Yes, soon, we'll both see her."

"I miss her! I wanna see her soon!"

"I wanna see her soon, too."

"I wish I could see her tomorrow…"

"Don't worry, you'll see her again."

"I hope so… she ate my cookie!"

"You took a big bite out of her cookie."

"It was supposed to be my cookie…"

"Well, at least, she shared with you. Would you have shared?"

"Of course I would! Lexi's my best friend!"

"You don't always share with her though…"

"I wanna see Lexi so I can say sorry for not sharing! I feel bad now…"

"It's okay; Lexi will forgive you."

"I hope she does… I don't like when Lexi's mad at me…" Janice patted his head. She had a loose grip on her ice-cream so it fell from her hands and plopped on Jaden's head.

"… Mommy… did a birdie poop on me…?"

"No… I dropped my ice-cream…"

_**XxX**_

Supreme: poor Jaden…

Zane: what on earth do you mean "poor Jaden"? You wrote it!

Supreme: … REVIEW!

Zane: *face-palm*

Supreme: the next chapters will be longer I promise! I just didn't know what to put on this chapter!

Zane: oh, you knew… you just forgot everything.

Supreme: … oh, look at that! Time to review! Please, review! Bye!


	3. I Found You

Supreme: hello!

Zane: hi…

Jaden: why is Zane quiet… more than usual?

Zane: shut up!

Jaden: never mind…

Supreme: one reviewer told me to tell him to be nice to me!

Jaden: why would they say that? You're mean to us!

Supreme: when?

Zane: you locked Jaden in a dog cage in that _I Hate You_ story!

Supreme: that was one time, and he bit me _**multiple**_ times! Anyway, do the disclaimer, and we can get this show on the road!

Z & J: Supreme King of Awesomeness does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX enjoy the story!

Supreme: this is set _**TEN YEARS**_ later!

_**XxX**_

15-year-old Jaden Yuki snored the morning away as the sun rose and shined brightly through his window. His step father Devin Hibiki ran up the stairs to wake him up. Devin had black hair that was spiked in a Mohawk and had green eyes.

Devin and Janice met up three years after Alexis moved away. They immediately fell in love. They got married a few months after dating. Devin's kids, Koyo and Midori, instantly became best friends with Jaden. They were about ten years older than Jaden but didn't love him any less.

"Jaden, get up!" Devin yelled, pouring a bucket full of ice-cold water on his step son.

"AH!" Jaden screamed.

"Hurry up and get dressed! Your exam for Duel Academy is today!"

"What!"

"Get up already! You're gonna be late!"

"You're right!" Devin left the room and bumped into Janice.

"Hello, Beautiful," he said, smiling.

"Hi," Janice said, smiling widely. Devin's smile dropped.

"Jaden's gonna be late for his exam." Janice frowned.

"I know." Devin's eyes widened.

"I gotta wake up Koyo and Midori!"

"Move your butt!" Devin ran to Koyo's room, and Janice ran to Midori's room.

"GET UP!" they both screamed.

"AH!" Koyo and Midori screamed, falling from bed. Yes, they were in different rooms, but the same thing was happening in both.

"Get breakfast and go!" the parents yelled. Koyo grabbed a pair of pants and ran downstairs. Midori got changed and raced down to the kitchen.

"Jaden!" Koyo yelled. Jaden was strapping on a belt and jumped when his step brother called him.

"What?" Jaden asked.

"Throw me my breakfast belt!" Jaden tossed a belt equipped with a small to-go box of cereal, a small bottle of milk, and a bottle of lemonade. "Thanks, kiddo!" He ran over and kissed Jaden on the head and ran out the door. Midori walked up behind her sibling.

"Jaden!" she called.

"What?" Jaden asked, trying to strap his breakfast belt on, which was armed with the same material.

"Breakfast belt!" Midori yelled. Jaden threw a belt armed with all the same material except it had a bottle of orange juice. "Love you, Jaden!" She was about to run out the door.

"Wait!" Jaden called.

"What?"

"Can you help me get this on?" Midori sighed and clicked the belt together. "Show off…"

"Cute," Midori said, ruffling his hair. Jaden flicked his hair and bolted out the door.

"Bye, Jaden!" Janice called.

"Bye, Ma!" Jaden said. He raced down the street to Domino City. He lived at a city that was on the border of Domino City. His step siblings had work in the morning, and if it weren't for their dad, they would all be late. Jaden pulled out his cereal and shoved a bunch of in his mouth.

The breakfast belt idea happened when Janice realized that the kids weren't gonna wake up on time to have breakfast at home. Thus, the birth of the breakfast belt happened!

"I can't believe the exam is today! I thought it was tomorrow! I gotta read the mail more often! I hate these stupid last minute changes!" Jaden said to himself. He ran down the street, swerving around various corners. "Hey! Watch out!" It was too late… Jaden bumped right into someone. "Hey, man, I'm super sorry!" The man turned around.

"It's no problem. You're a duelist, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I am, actually. I was just about to enter the exam to get into an academy for duelists!" Jaden replied.

"Well, here then," the man said, reaching into his back pocket. "Take this." He handed Jaden a card.

"Hey, thanks, Mr.… um… hey, where'd he go?" Jaden turned around just about a million times but couldn't find the man. Jaden checked his watch. "Oh, no, I'm gonna be late for the exam!" He bolted toward the Kaiba Dome where the exam was held. He ran up the wall as a short cut to the exam hall.

"Alright, girls, mark the no shows as absent and cancel their duel," a man in a suit said to two girls. They nodded and began to close up the sign up station.

"Wait!" Jaden yelled, popping up. "I'm here! Don't mark me absent!"

"Um… that's a straight wall… how did you climb that?" the man in the suit asked.

"I am true ninja!" Jaden said. The man rubbed his chin.

"I vaguely remember one of our seniors saying that same thing when he was late entering…"

"There are a lot of twigs here… can you help me up?" Jaden asked. The two girls walked over to him. Jaden reached out to them, but his hands were already slippery so he slipped and fell on the ground.

"Are you alright?" one girl asked, running to the railing he was just hanging on.

"Not really…" Jaden mumbled. He stood and backed up so he was several feet away from the wall. He bolted toward the wall and started running up it. He latched on to the railing and pulled himself up again. "So where's the exam room?" The other three pointed toward the exam area. "Thanks." He jumped over the railing and ran off.

"Wait! You need to sign your name first!" Jaden ran back and scribbled his signature onto the paper. He ran off again. "Youth… are always late…"

In the exam room, hundreds of students waited and watched duels take place. A blonde girl was leaning on the railing next to her brother's best friend.

"Whaddaya think of the batch of students this year, Zane?" she asked.

"It's definitely better than last year," Zane answered. He had dark blue hair and dark blue eyes. He wore the standard Obelisk Blue uniform.

Here students were classified into three groups from weakest to strongest… duel wise, of course… there are some very physically weak Obelisks: Slifer Red, Ra Yellow, and Obelisk Blue.

"I just wish _he_ was here…" the blonde girl said.

"Why do you want him back so badly, Alexis?"

"He was my best friend. I miss him…"

"You were best friends when you were five, Alexis. Get over it. It's been ten years."

"Zane, you obviously don't care about my feelings."

"It's not that… I just don't think you should worry so much about seeing him again. It's been ten years. What's the likelihood that you'll see him again?"

"I guess you're right…"

"When am I not?" Alexis smirked and looked at him.

"Does the time you said you were a ninja count?" Zane remained silent. Alexis laughed. "That's exactly what I'm talking about."

Somewhere else in the arena, Jaden was talking with two other students. One had black-gray hair and the same color eyes. The other had sky blue hair and gray eyes covered by glasses.

"… And that's the real reason the chicken crossed the road," Jaden said.

"… Inspiring," the one with black hair said.

"Wait, your name was Bastion, right? And you're Syrus." The black haired one nodded at the confirmation of his name being Bastion. The blue haired one nodded since his name was Syrus.

"_Jaden Yuki, please report to duel field four,"_ some guy said over the intercom.

"Why not one? I am number one," Jaden said, walking down the stairs. He appeared on a duel field where a blonde person was already waiting for him. Jaden smiled. "Hey! You remind me of my grandma! She was so sweet… y'know, until she died." The audience laughed.

"Excuse me, but I am Dr. Crowler!" the blonde yelled.

"Oh… um… not to be rude, but… are you a guy… or what?"

"I am a male!" Everyone in the audience gasped.

"Could've fooled us!" they yelled.

"Weren't you like this when you entered?" Alexis asked Zane. "You were late, and you called Crowler a lady or something."

"I don't want to talk about my first year… it was pathetic… I was so immature," Zane said.

"That's the part about being a kid!"

"I'm seventeen, Alexis."

"You have wasted your younger years."

"Oh, to be young," Zane said in a grandpa voice. It sounded very real, actually. Alexis laughed.

(A/N: Must skip duel! I am too lazy to write it!)

Crowler twitched when he got beat. Jaden was jumping around like an idiot, waving at the audience.

"I can't believe he won!" some people were whispering.

"_Jaden Yuki, welcome to Duel Academy,"_ some guy said over the intercom. They did this whenever someone beats a teacher rather than a duel proctor.

"Wait… Did he say…? Jaden Yuki…?" Alexis asked.

"What about Jaden Yuki?" Zane asked.

"He… Jaden's my best friend…"

_**XxX**_

Supreme: and there you go!

Zane: you said it would be longer

Supreme: I did? Oh, yeah, I did! Sorry… the next chapter they actually see each other!

Zane: will it be longer?

Supreme: … oh, look at that! Time for reviewing! Please review while I flee from Zane. *runs away*

Zane: _**SUPREME!**_ *runs after me*

Jaden: review! *smiles cutely*


	4. The Real Story Begins

Supreme: hello, readers

Zane: hi

Supreme: you ruined it!

Zane: ruined what?

Supreme: I was being quiet and—

Zane: quiet—HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Supreme: *sigh* **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX **enjoy… WILL YOU STOP LAUGHING?

_**XxX**_

Jaden was sleeping on the helicopter to Duel Academy while everyone else was completely fascinated by the sight.

"Attention, we will be arriving at Duel Academy shortly," the captain announced. When they arrived, Jaden stretched when he got out. He went to his dorm and changed.

"Man, _this _is our dorm?" Syrus asked panicked. "It's pathetic! I wish I scored higher on my tests…"

"C'mon, you don't mean that, right? The view is awesome!" Jaden said enthusiastically. "Let's check out our dorm." He and Syrus entered their new dorm. "Why are the blinds closed?" Jaden ripped the curtains open, letting the light shine through.

"Hey, those were closed for a reason!" someone said. Jaden and Syrus screamed in terror and clung to each other for dear life. The person turned over.

"Oh, hey," Jaden said happily.

"It's a koala!" Syrus yelled.

"The name's Chumley!"

"I'm Jaden."

"I'm Syrus. Sorry for calling you a koala…"

"It's fine; just close the blinds for me, okay?"

"Yeah, man, no problem," Jaden said, shutting the blinds. "I was gonna look around the academy anyway."

"Okay, later, Jaden," Syrus said, settling in the bottom bunk.

"Sy, I wanted the bottom…"

"Sorry, Jay…" Syrus settled into the middle bunk.

"It's cool. I never liked the top or middle bunk… always a hard fall."

"'Hard fall'…? Wait, Jaden!" Jaden was already out the door. "Aw, man…"

"I'm glad Syrus gave up the bottom. I would hurt like crazy in the morning," Jaden said to himself. He walked around, not really knowing where to go. He strolled off until he was at the front of Duel Academy's school building. "Ah, the school building… it is the place of learning, the place of knowledge! The place where I will never be awake! It's good to be here…" Jaden turned but bumped into someone. "Hey, I'm really sorry about that."

"It's alright," they said, turning around.

"It's not okay, Slifer Slacker!" one of the friends yelled. The person Jaden bumped into froze.

"Jaden…" they said.

"A-Alexis…?" Jaden asked.

"You know this dork, Alexis?" one of her friends asked.

"Jasmine, maybe we should be quiet for a sec," the other girl whispered.

"A-Alexis… is that… you?" Jaden asked. Alexis smiled.

"H-hey, Jaden…" she said. Jaden smiled widely.

"Holy freaking crap!" Jaden screamed. Alexis laughed when Jaden lifted her off of her feet and hugged her tightly. "Lexi!"

"Jaden, put me down!" Alexis laughed. Jaden ignored her and spun her around before setting her down. Alexis hugged him tightly. "I can't believe it's you!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jaden asked playfully.

"Anything it can mean." Jaden pouted. Alexis laughed and patted his cheek.

"I take offence."

"I'm sorry." Jaden smiled and hugged Alexis, picking her up off her feet.

"Okay!" Alexis hugged back and smacked the back of his head. "Ow!" Jaden dropped Alexis and clutched his head. "What was that for?"

"For biting over half of my cookie!" Jaden smiled and pointed at her.

"You remembered!"

"Of course, I remember! My stomach was growling the entire night!"

"I thought that was my stomach… I wanted to apologize!"

"For what? Not stopping my dad from moving? Not like you could, really."

"I wanna apologize for not sharing with you as much as you shared with me…"

"Aw!" Alexis gushed, hugging him around the neck. "I can't believe you remember how big a food hoarder you were!"

"Hey!" Jaden yelled. Alexis laughed.

"I'm kidding, but you did eat a lot of my food."

"I'm sorry…"

"I forgive you. How's your mom?"

"She got remarried!"

"She did? Who did she get married to?"

"She got married to Devin Hibiki, and his kids are awesome! We get along really well!"

"I think there's a teacher here whose last name is Hibiki."

"Who?"

"Y'know, we are still here," Jasmine said. Mindy waved at Jaden.

"Oh, right!" Alexis said. She grabbed Jaden's hand and walked over to her friends. "These are my friends Mindy and Jasmine. Guys, this is Jaden Yuki."

"You're the guy who beat Dr. Crowler, right?" Mindy asked. Jaden nodded. "You're cute."

"Mindy," Jasmine said through gritted teeth. She smacked Mindy's arm.

"Ow! Well, he is!" Jaden smiled, and Alexis sighed.

"Y'know what… I'm gonna show you around the island," Alexis said. She grabbed Jaden hand and rushed off toward the forest.

"By the way, why is everyone in casual clothes? I thought there was a uniform," Jaden said.

"There's no school today. When there's no school, there's no dress code." Jaden nodded. "The first week is so everyone can get used to Duel Academy for the first time."

"So where are we going anyway?" Jaden intertwined his fingers with Alexis's as they continued walking.

"I found this place earlier, and I wanna show it to my best friend."

"I'm your best friend! I'm so happy now!" Alexis laughed and rested her head on Jaden's shoulder.

"We're almost there."

"Why is it in the middle of the forest?" Alexis shrugged. "Lemme guess, you didn't put it there so you wouldn't know." Alexis laughed.

"I love that! You can read me like a book! I think you're the only person who can do that without trying."

"Whaddaya mean not trying?"

"It doesn't seem very hard for you to know what I'm thinking."

"I guess I know you really well. I know we were only friends until we were five, but…"

"… 'But' what, Jaden?"

"I love that I found you again! I really missed you!"

"I missed you, too, Jaden! Here we are!"

"Oh, wow… this place it sweet!" Jaden ran off with Alexis in tow. It was a run-down playground. It just looked run-down because of all the dirt. Jaden climbed on top of the monkey bars and stood on them.

"Jaden, be careful!" Alexis said, following him.

"I know what I'm doing." Jaden pulled out a bag of Skittles from his pocket and started eating them. "Want some?"

"Yeah, why not?" Jaden handed Alexis some Skittles and squatted on top of the monkey bars.

"So how have you been, Lexi?"

"I see you still have that nickname for me." Jaden smiled. "I've been okay. I missed you a lot. I promised myself that I would enter Duel Academy to find you. I didn't my first year, but I found you here." Alexis smiled and leaned up to Jaden.

"I missed you, too…" Jaden leaned down so their noses were touching. Jaden sighed and sat down so his legs were dangling off of the side of the monkey bars. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "Did you make a lot of friends here?"

"I made a few friends… I met Zane in Domino City when I moved. He was our next door neighbor."

"Who's Zane?"

"Atty's best friend…" Alexis started tearing up. Jaden leaned forward even more and wiped her tears.

"What's wrong?" he asked. He caressed her cheek.

"Atty went missing…" Jaden hugged Alexis in an effort to comfort her. Alexis broke down in his arms.

"I'm sorry, Lexi… I wish I could help…" Alexis gripped the front of Jaden's shirt. "Don't cry, Alexis… I hate seeing you cry."

"I want him back here…" Jaden rubbed her back and gently pushed away.

"I'll help you as much as possibly so you can move on… deal?" Alexis smiled and nodded. "I need you to say something."

"Yes," Alexis said quietly.

"I can't hear you."

"Yes!" Jaden smiled and hugged Alexis again. "You sure like hugging, don't you?"

"I love hugs! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy." Alexis broke from Jaden's hug and looked at him.

"I really missed you, Jaden."

"I missed you, too." Alexis leaned in and gently kissed Jaden. Jaden's eyes widened slightly before closing. They separated after a few seconds.

"I'm sorry, Jaden… that was uncalled for."

"It's okay… I just… I just wish I wasn't so uncomfortable on this monkey bar! My butt hurts now! I was always comfortable when I gave my mom a kiss good-bye for school! When Midori, my step-sister, gave me a kiss good-bye, I was always sitting down."

"I… never mind…" Jaden cocked his head to the side. "It's nothing…" Jaden shrugged and poked her arm.

"You're it." Jaden ran off. Alexis chased after him. "Hurry, Lexi, or you'll never catch me! Ha, ha!" Jaden yelled playfully.

"If you would wait for me than I can catch you!" Alexis whined, running after him.

"But it wouldn't be tag if I waited for you!" Alexis plopped down on the ground.

"You said you would always wait for me!" Jaden ran back to her.

"I'm sorry… I… wait a minute…"

"Tag!" Alexis said, poking his arm before running off.

"No fair, Lexi!" Jaden screamed, running off after her. "Why do I have a feeling of déjà vu?" Jaden closed in on her, but Alexis stopped and turned around with Jaden running into her. She rested her hands on his chest.

"I don't know…"

"Tag," Jaden said, poking Alexis's arm. Alexis sighed and shook her head. "Let's head back to campus."

"Okay, but, Jay…?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm too tired to walk over there…" Alexis smiled innocently as Jaden rolled his eyes, smiling.

"Come here!" Jaden rushed to Alexis and picked her up bridal-style.

"Jaden, put me down!" Alexis yelled.

"I remember being told that earlier… I just can't remember if a listened of not?" Jaden said sarcastically.

"Jaden!" Alexis screamed.

"Oh, right! I didn't!" Jaden ran off with Alexis in his arms. Alexis laughed and buried her face into his neck.

_~Later~_

"Do even know where we are?" Alexis asked, wrapping her arms tighter around Jaden's neck.

"Of course, I do! We're at… um…"

"Maybe we should call for help…"

"I know where we are!"

"No, you don't!"

"Fine, I don't!"

"Why do give up so easily?" Jaden looked at Alexis.

"I know I can never _**EVER**_ win against you in a verbal fight."

"Whaddaya mean 'verbal' fight?"

"I can totally whoop you in dueling." Alexis tried to escape from his grasp. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not gonna let a guy who doesn't believe I can duel hold me in his arms."

"I never said you couldn't duel! I just said I could beat you!" Alexis stared at him. "I sorry…"

"Okay… I forgive you…"

"Yay!" Jaden cried, hugging her.

"Can we head back to the academy?"

"I don't where we are, though…"

"I know here we are…"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I knew you would try to argue so I'm making you learn the value of… _waiting_…" Jaden gasped. "I will give directions if you—"

"I need to get out of here!" Jaden bolted off in some random direction, carrying Alexis with him. After a few minutes, Jaden and Alexis were back at Duel Academy's school building.

"Could you maybe put me down now?" Alexis asked. Jaden nodded and set her down. Mindy and Jasmine raced toward them.

"Alexis, are you okay?" Mindy asked franticly.

"Of course, I am. Why do you ask?" Jasmine glared at Jaden.

"This Slifer Slacker just had you in his arms, and you obviously didn't like it!" she yelled.

"Guys, Jaden and I were just playing. I don't like being carried, even by you, Jaden," Alexis said, turning to Jaden. Jaden smiled before laughing. "I'm fine, by the way. I just wanted to spend time with my friend, who I haven't seen in ten years."

"As long as you're okay…" Jasmine said quietly. Alexis smiled. 'I haven't seen her smile like that… ever,' Jasmine thought.

"Thanks. If you don't mind, I'm gonna show Jaden around, okay?" Alexis said. She left with Jaden following her from close behind.

"Alexis never acts like this, not even around us," Mindy said. "I just wish I can find someone like that Jaden kid."

"I'm not real happy about this…"

"Can't you just be happy that Alexis found someone?" Jasmine sighed.

"Fine… but Jaden has to prove himself first." Mindy smiled.

"At least, you're trying."

_**XxX**_

Supreme: okay, I'm outta ideas…

Zane: cancel the story!

Supreme: NO!

Zane: I will not tolerate being made a fool of in your stories!

Supreme: that's _Is This Fate?_ only

Zane: *sigh* okay… review


	5. Chauffeur

Supreme: I am here with chapter 5!

Zane: good

Supreme: anyway, Zane! Disclaimer, please!

Zane: explain what this chapter is mainly about and I will.

Supreme: this was a random idea. I just felt I should put it in for some odd reason.

Zane: I am happy now. **Supreme King of Awesomeness does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX** enjoy

_**XxX**_

"Attendance," Crowler shrieked. "Alexis Rhodes?"

"Here," Alexis said.

"Bastion Misawa?" Crowler asked.

"Present," Bastion said.

"Jaden Yuki?"

No reply.

"Jaden Yuki?"

No reply.

"Alright, then, Jaden Yuki is abs…" Crowler stopped short when the door opened. Zane walked in carrying Jaden bridal-style. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I was walking to class and saw him on the ground clutching his ankle," Zane explained. Crowler looked at Jaden. "Being a nice person, I helped him to class."

"I twisted my ankle," Jaden said.

"How did this happen?" Crowler asked.

"I was running to class, and someone tripped me. Then he and his buds hung me up on the tree. I tried to get down… and I did. I landed wrong on my ankle, and it twisted or something," Jaden explained.

"You're finally here to grace us with your presence, am I correct?" Jaden smiled sheepishly.

"Actually… I came to ask if I could get the hall pass and go to the nurse's office." Crowler rolled his eyes. "You know when Zane—"

"There's nothing to say," Zane said, covering Jaden's mouth. Jaden licked his hand. Zane pulled his hand back immediately. "Do you have hand sanitizer?" Crowler pointed to his desk. Zane dropped Jaden to the floor. Jaden stuck out his foot. Zane looked down at it then at Jaden. He reeled his foot back and kicked Jaden's foot. The other students laughed.

"OW!" Jaden yelled, grasping his foot. "Now _both_ my feet hurt!"

"You deserve it," Zane said, getting hand sanitizer. He walked back to Jaden. Jaden held his hands up.

"Carry me!"

"What if I drag you?"

"That works, too." Zane grabbed one of Jaden's hands and dragged him out of the room. He tried holding the door open, but it slipped out of his grasp and slammed Jaden in the head. "Ow!"

"Sorry," Zane apologized, laughing slightly. The other students, especially the other Obelisks, laughed.

"Carry me!" Jaden demanded angrily. Zane let go of his hand, making the door slip and hit Jaden again. "Ow!" Zane pulled him out of the room and carried him bridal-style.

_**~Next Morning~**_

Zane walked in with Jaden on his back. Jaden was fast asleep.

"He was passed out in front of the school," Zane said. He handed Crowler Jaden's tardy slip and walked to Jaden's seat next to Syrus. He dumped Jaden next to his little brother.

"Did he really pass out in front of the school?" Syrus asked.

"I found lying in front of the school entrance fast asleep. At least, he's here, right?" Zane said. Syrus shrugged.

"I guess."

"I should get to homeroom." Zane left.

"Why does someone like him waste his time with slackers like Jaden Yuki?" Crowler asked. Jaden just happened to wake up when he said that.

"Y'know, we aren't all slackers. Sure, I slack off during class, but my dueling skills rule. You would know best, right?" Jaden asked, smiling widely. The other students' mouths were gaping open in shock. Alexis just smiled.

"How dare you!" Crowler shrieked.

"'Cause I'm daring, I guess. I dun no." Jaden stretched.

"You are extremely disrespectful!"

"Nah, it's not that. I just stick up for my own kind, which right now are Slifers."

"Detention!" Crowler screamed, startling everyone but Jaden. Jaden shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" he said calmly.

'How is he so calm?' Alexis thought. 'Does he just wanna try out the detention here?'

"I wanna see what detention is like here, anyway," Jaden said.

'It's like he read my thoughts! Next thing I know, he'll yawn and sleep.' Jaden yawned and rested his head on his desk. 'You have got to be kidding me.'

_**~Next Morning~**_

Zane walked in again with Jaden sitting on his shoulders half-asleep. Jaden tiredly handed Crowler his tardy slip.

"What was it this time?" Crowler asked. Zane looked up at Jaden.

"I was walking to class, and I saw Zane. I asked if he would give me a piggy-back ride to class," Jaden explained tiredly.

"And he said yes?"

"No," Zane said, "he jumped on my back. I decided it might be easier this way, which was true."

"Why do people say I'm heavy? Zane can carry me just fine," Jaden said.

"You're 90 pounds… probably less. Who says you're heavy?" Jaden shrugged and pointed to Alexis. Everyone turned to Alexis.

"I said that once, okay?" she said. "We were five, and you hopped on my back." Every guy, except Zane, glared at Jaden.

"She did say I was heavy, okay?" he said.

"Why do you two say 'okay' at the end of every sentence?" Chazz asked, clearly ticked off. Alexis and Jaden shrugged.

"I dun no," they answered. They stared at each other.

"Line theifer," Jaden said.

"You stole my line," Alexis said.

"I did not."

"Zane, you leave Jaden here and go to your next class. Jaden, stop arguing or detention," Crowler shrieked.

"But, she was arguing with me, too!" Jaden said, pointing to Alexis. Zane set Jaden down and walked out.

"Detention for talking back arguing with the teacher!" Crowler screamed.

"But—"

"Double detention!"

"But—"

"Triple detention!"

"But—"

"Shall we make it detention for the entire month?" Jaden mouth shut.

"I'll be good." He walked to his seat quietly.

_**~Next Morning~ (Jaden/Note: why are there so many days!)**_

Zane walked in carrying Jaden like a five-year-old. Jaden was asleep, as usual. Zane handed Crowler a tardy slip.

"Is this your job now?" Crowler asked, putting the slip on his desk.

"Since yesterday, yes," Zane answered. "He started paying me to do this. This my official job, now." Zane walked over to Alexis.

"What is it?" Alexis whispered.

"We have some clues on Atticus," Zane whispered.

"You do!" Alexis asked. Zane nodded.

"Chancellor Sheppard excused you from class. I asked him while Jaden was somewhat awake."

"Where do I go?"

"Sheppard's office," Zane whispered. "You, Jaden, and I are going."

"Why is Jaden going?"

"He told me that he made a promise. He promised to help you get over Atticus. How about… he helps us _find_ Atticus." Alexis smiled and stood up.

"Ms. Rhodes, where do you plan on going?" Crowler shrieked.

"Chancellor Sheppard excused her, Jaden, and me from classes for the day," Zane answered, walking down the steps. Zane and Alexis walked to chancellor's office. Jaden woke up.

"Where are we going…?" he asked groggily.

"We're gonna find Atticus," Zane answered. Jaden turned to Alexis.

"Atticus…? I thought he was… never mind. Can I ride on your shoulders?" Jaden asked Zane excitedly. Zane sighed and put Jaden down. He squatted so Jaden could jump on his shoulders.

"This is so unlike you, Zane," Alexis said, smiling.

"I guess, I'm just so tired that I'm in a drunk-like state," Zane said.

"No… Jaden's changed you."

"Changed me…? How has he changed me?"

"I changed him…?" Jaden asked.

"You might not believe this, Jaden, but Zane was a completely quiet and to himself kinda guy," Alexis said. "He never gave anyone a piggy-back ride or anything remotely close to it, not even to Syrus."

"I'm special," Jaden said, smiling.

"Oh, you're special alright… very special," Zane said.

"It's like he's your personal—"

"Chauffeur," Jaden and Alexis said simultaneously. They stared at each other.

"Line theifer," Jaden said. Alexis smiled.

"If I'm a chauffeur, I might as well carry both of you," Zane said. He picked up Alexis and carried her bridal-style.

"First, Jaden, now you!" Alexis yelled. "I am so happy I'm wearing jeans underneath this skirt!"

"Why?" Jaden asked curiously.

"It's nothing, Jaden," Zane said, smirking.

_**XxX**_

Supreme: alright! I didn't forget to update, so don't forget to review!

Zane: why do I hafta be the one to carry them?

Supreme: because you're big and strong!

Zane: … did you just call me fat?

Supreme: what?

Zane: you called me big!

Supreme: what? No! Anyway, REVIEW PLEASE!

Zane: review because I will hunt you down if you don't

Supreme: no, don't do that!

Zane: why not?

Supreme: you might scare them away!

S & Z: _**REVIEW! CLICK IT!**_

**\/**


	6. Payback & Kickball

Supreme: hi!

Zane: … I want to sleep…

Supreme: he's didn't get any sleep last night

Zane: whatever…

Supreme: you sound like Shikamaru from Naruto

Zane: oh, well… _**Supreme King of Awesomeness does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX**_ enjoy… *passes out*

_**XxX**_

"So do we actually have assigned seats like in Crowler's class?" Jaden asked Alexis as they walked to their first class period.

"Not really," the blonde answered. "He just wants us to sit down."

"Okay, cool."

"I'll sit by you if it's okay."

"Sweetness is awesomeness, Lexi." Alexis knew better than anybody that that meant yes.

"I found this last night while I was cleaning out some of my drawers." Alexis pulled a yearbook out of her back pack. "This was Zane's yearbook when he first came here." She flipped through the pages and found her brother's and Zane's class.

"No way in fudge covered fudge that that's Atticus!" Jaden said. Atticus had hair that fell slightly past his shoulders. He still had his soft chocolate brown eyes. He was grown and about 15 in this picture. "Then again… it has been ten years." Zane walked into the classroom.

"Hey, Zane," Alexis said. Zane raised his eyebrows at her. Alexis knew that was his way of saying hello. "This was Zane when he was fifteen!"

"What are you looking at?" Zane asked, walking next to her. "Oh, no…" She found the yearbook…

"Are you serious?" Jaden screamed. Zane had short hair spiked in a Mohawk. The tips of his hair were blood red. The rest was blue.

"I was fifteen and immature! I dyed my hair but for good reason!" Zane defended.

"'Good reason'…?" Alexis questioned, smiling and almost laughing. Zane opened his mouth before shutting it. "That's what I thought."

"I thought it looked cool at the time." Zane sat down next to Alexis. He was at the edge of the bench. Alexis sat next to him; Jaden sat next to her.

"Why does Atticus have long hair? He used to have short hair, didn't he?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah, but he let it grow out after he was thirteen," Alexis explained.

"Why dye your hair red?" Jaden asked Zane. Zane stared into space for a moment.

"I don't know. I really like the color red when I was fifteen, mainly because it was my dorm," Zane said. "I was in Slifer Red when I first entered because I beat Crowler in a duel during my entrance exam. He put me in Slifer for calling him a lady or something, too. It isn't exactly my fault he's gender-confused. He promoted me after I got quiet."

"What made you shut up?" Jaden asked.

"I think it was tons of girls coming up to me and crushing my hopes and dreams."

"When was that?" Alexis asked.

"During my first year, the girls didn't like my hair because it was blue and red or whatever. They despised Slifer apparently so they decided to pick on me and tell me that I suck at dueling. They got their boyfriends to duel me and beat me. I whooped three at once." Jaden whistled.

"Nice," he said, raising his hand for a high-five.

"Thanks," Zane said, raising his hand and high-fiving the Slifer. "I wanted to stay in Slifer, but my dad wanted me to move up as soon as I could."

"Alright, class, have a seat," the teacher said, walking in the classroom. Jaden looked up and froze.

"You!" he yelled, pointing at the teacher. He shot up and jumped over his desk. He ran over to the teacher and pointed his finger at the older male until his finger was touching his nose.

"Hi, Jaden," the teacher said calmly.

"Koyo!" Jaden yelled, jumping on him and hugging him tightly. Koyo hugged his hyper brother back.

"What is that hyper active brunette doing?" Zane asked.

"Jaden, get off of me. People are staring," Koyo said.

"Oh, sorry," Jaden said, getting off. He jumped over his desk and sat in his chair.

"Please excuse my step-brother," Koyo said, walking to his desk. "Let's get started, shall we?"

Instead of listening, some students were whispering about how Jaden will get special treatment being Koyo's brother and all.

"Alright, hand in your work from the board." The students got up and handed in their work. "Jaden, come here." Jaden stopped and turned around. "Do you not know how to do this?" Koyo whispered to his brother.

"I thought I did. I was paying attention, but I'm still confused," Jaden whispered back.

"Like I do with my other students, I could assign you a tutor."

"I don't want a tutor!"

"Jaden, I'm not going to let you fail my class. I expect 100 percent effort from all my students, even you, Jaden."

"You know ever tutor I've ever had has always gotten frustrated with me and quit!" Jaden whispered harshly. "It costs Mom and Devin money!"

"I will let you chose one of my two best students and you can choose your tutor, okay?"

"Who are your best students?"

"Zane Truesdale and Alexis Rhodes," Koyo answered. "I also hear you've been failing slightly in the other classes. Pick one of them for this class and another for a different class."

"I'll get Zane for this class then," Jaden said. He began to walk out. Zane was leaning against the wall by the door. "Where's Alexis?"

"She's in her next class," Zane answered. "You owe me, Yuki."

"Whaddaya me—Ah…!"

'Where are Jaden and Zane?' Alexis thought. 'It doesn't take that long to walk to class.'

"Sorry… I'm… late," Jaden said, walking through the door.

"Oh, my goodness…" Jaden walked in with Zane on his back, who smiling widely. The other students started laughing.

"Please, take this," Jaden said with a tardy slip in his mouth. Crowler pulled it out of his mouth. "I know I'm not late yet, but I will be." Jaden walked toward the door.

"What is the meaning of this?" Crowler asked.

"This is what happens when you don't pay someone for piggyback rides," Zane said.

"I forgot once!" Jaden screamed.

"I didn't get my money so you hafta work it off!"

"Why are you so fat?" Jaden gasped.

"Muscle outweighs fat, Genius," Zane pointed out.

"How much do you weigh?" Jaden screamed, falling on the floor. Zane sat next to him.

"Only 150 pounds," he said.

"'Only'?" Jaden wheezed. "I need air in my lungs…" Jaden stood up and looked at Zane, who was still seated cross-legged on the floor.

"You're still my transportation to class." Jaden sighed and grabbed Zane's hand. He proceeded to drag Zane to class.

"You… are so… fat…!" Jaden said, struggling to pull him out of class.

"I'm underweight, Jaden. I'm supposed to be _at least_ 30 pounds heavier."

"I'm glad you're so thin, fatty."

Jaden came back a few minutes later, sweating and panting.

"Why is he so fat…?" Jaden asked, plopping down on his chair.

"Zane's underweight, Jaden," Syrus said. "I think it runs in our family. Our parents are underweight; Zane's underweight. I'm even underweight!"

"My doctor says I'm really underweight. I'm only 90 pounds, but I'm supposed to be at least 130," Jaden whispered.

"I know what you mean. I'm only 85 pounds. My doctor says it's either because I burn a lot of fat through exercise, or I don't eat as much as I should. He said someone my height should be 110 pounds or more."

"I burn a lot of fat in exercise and because of my metabolism."

"I think one of the reasons Zane is so underweight is because of his thyroid problem. He burns more body fat than he should. He has a high metabolism as it is. He's been eating a lot over the summer so he gained some weight." Jaden nodded and yawned. He stretched and laid his head on his desk.

After class ended, Jaden got up and stretched. He waited for Alexis to come down the steps. He waved as he stretched some more. Alexis smiled and walked down to him. She stood next to his right and poked his stomach. Jaden pouted and glared playfully at her.

"Now my stomach hurts…" he mumbled.

"Sorry," Alexis said, smiling. She shivered slightly.

"Are you cold?" Jaden asked, putting a hand on her back.

"I'm fine." Jaden frowned. "Seriously, I'm okay."

"Lex, don't lie to me. That hurts my feelings and makes me think that you don't trust me."

"It's nothing. I trust you, but it's something small, Jay." Jaden stared at her for several minutes. "Okay, fine, I'm cold." Jaden smiled.

"Thank you for telling me the truth." Jaden grabbed her hand. "Let's get to class."

"Why are you so eager?" Jaden smiled. "You're just gonna nap, aren't you?" Jaden nodded. Alexis rolled her eyes and squeezed Jaden's hand slightly. "Your hands are really warm."

"And yours are really cold." Jaden wrapped an arm around her. He still held her left hand so it was crossed over her chest. Alexis sighed and grabbed Jaden's right forearm.

"You love hugs too much."

"I love hugs! Hugs are fun!" Jaden pulled Alexis along to their next class. "Is it the same here as it is in Koyo's class? No assigned seats or whatever?" Jaden asked, walking into the next class.

"Pretty much," Alexis answered. They sat in the front. Alexis shivered again. Jaden let go of her hands and pulled off his jacket. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Jaden slung his coat around Alexis's shoulders. "Better?" he asked. Alexis smiled and nodded. Jaden smiled and hugged her.

"Jay, let go of me," Alexis said, laughing slightly. Jaden shook his head and hugged her tighter. Alexis leaned her head on his chest.

"Get a room, lovebirds!" Mindy cooed, walking past them to her seat. Jasmine walked up to them and glared at Jaden.

"Don't hurt Alexis, got that?" she warned. She walked up to her seat next to Mindy.

"What was that about?" Jaden asked. Alexis face palmed.

'I forgot about them…' she thought. 'I need to be careful with Jaden when they're around, or I'll never hear the end of it.'

"Lexi?" Jaden asked, snapping her out of her train of thought.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing," Alexis said. Jaden stared at her before shrugging it off and laying his head on the desk.

"Class, sit down, and we'll start class," the teacher said, walking in. Jaden's eyes widened.

"Why don't you guys tell me about your jobs?" Jaden screamed.

"I dunno," the teacher replied.

"Seriously, though! Not cool at all, Midori!"

"Sorry if I'm uncool."

"First it was Koyo; now it's you…"

"Sorry. Alright, let's begin, shall we?"

Of course, Jaden slept through it. When class ended, Jaden stood up and walked to Midori.

"Hey, Sis," he said. Midori smiled at her brother.

"Jaden," she whispered, "Koyo told me you might be failing in your other classes."

"I know."

"I'm assigning you a tutor."

"No! Koyo already gave me a tutor for his class!"

"Jaden, I'm going to give you a tutor that you would be comfortable with."

"Can I have Alexis as my tutor, then?" Midori paused and nodded. "Yes!"

"Alright, get to class, Jay." Jaden nodded and ran out. He saw Alexis waiting by the door.

"Oh, hey, Alexis," he said.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. I gotta get to class, Jaden." Alexis began to walk to her next class. Jaden opened his mouth to say something. "Bye."

"Alexis!" Alexis stopped and turned to face Jaden. "Our next class is the other way."

"I'm going to algebra. You have gym class right now."

"I do?" Alexis smiled and nodded. "Aw… I wanted to spend next class period with you…!" Alexis shrugged. "Well, I gotta go then." Jaden ran off.

"There's no class to today," Alexis's teacher said after class started.

"Why not?" some other student asked.

"The big game is in a few minutes."

"What big game?" another student asked.

"The annual or sometimes monthly game of seniors and freshmen versus juniors is right now."

"Why is it always seniors _**and**_ freshmen versus just the juniors?"

"There are always way more juniors than any other class for some reason. Some time freshmen are on the juniors' side." The teacher shrugged. "Well, dismissed. Go to the gym." The students shrugged and went to the gym.

"Maybe you get to see your boyfriend play," Mindy said, walking up to Alexis.

"Who's that?" Alexis asked.

"Jaden," Jasmine said.

"What about him?"

"He's your boyfriend, right?"

"No. What makes you think that?"

"You're kidding, right?" Mindy asked. "You two are closer than close! You're practically dating him!"

"The hugging in class," Jasmine said.

"Holding hands," Mindy added.

"I got it," Alexis said. They walked to the gym. "Jaden and I are just really good friends."

"Yes, you are… _**really**_ good friends."

"Guys, head to the baseball field instead," some Obelisk said, running past them. "Teacher said to!"

"Where your boyfriend is," Mindy said. Alexis rolled her eyes and sat on the bleachers front row above the field. Some seniors and juniors were on the field warming up. The freshmen that were playing were sitting on the bench. Jaden walked out on the field. He spotted Alexis and smiled. He ran up to her.

"Hey, guys," he said happily.

"Why are you so happy?" Alexis asked. Jaden smiled and rested his arms on the fence thingy in front of the seats, elevating himself slightly.

"We're playing kickball. The field is nice and gigantic! It's a clear field with plenty of room! The back got taken out just for the game!" They looked around and noticed it was more spacious than before. Everything was clear. How on earth does this happen over the summer? "I gotta get ready. I'll see ya later!" Jaden leaned over to Alexis and pecked her on the lips. He ran back to the bench where the other freshmen were waiting.

"He _**isn't**_ your boyfriend?" Mindy asked.

"I don't even know what happened," Alexis answered truthfully. 'Maybe Jaden needs to see a doctor.'

"Alright!" the male gym yelled. "Truesdale, Velar, get over here and pick teams." Zane and a junior with short jet black hair walked to the center of the field.

"Jeff, you wanna pick first?" Zane asked the junior.

"Yeah," Jeff answered. "I pick Bastion." Bastion walked next to Jeff.

"I get Jaden, then," Zane said. Jaden ran over to Zane. They picked the rest of the teams. Since Zane picked second, he chooses in or outs (Infield or outfield). He chose in.

"Truesdale, get your team by home plate," the gym instructor… well, instructed. Zane and his team went by the batting (or kicking in this case) area.

"Who wants to go first?" Zane asked. "Jaden, you wanna go first?" he asked since no one said anything. Jaden shrugged and went up to the plate. The gym teacher Henry reeled his arm back and rolled the ball on the floor with a lot of speed. Jaden stuck his foot out and kicked it up slightly so he caught it.

"Out!" someone on the opposite team shouted playfully. Everyone else laughed.

"What happened?" Henry asked.

"I can't kick that! It was too high off the ground when it bounced!" Jaden defended. He threw the ball back to him. Henry pitched steadier. Jaden ran up and kicked the ball with all of his might, and the ball went soaring. Jaden bolted around the bases… soon he was standing right in front of home plate. He had to touch base for the point to count. He waited until the person with the ball came running after him. The person who had the ball chucked it at Jaden. Jaden moved his foot so it touched the base. He caught the ball with ease. He threw the ball to Henry.

"That was stupid," Zane said, smirking. Jaden sat next to him on the bench. Zane was hunched forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

"Then why are you smiling?" Jaden asked. Zane smiled widely before returning to his smirk.

"It was humorous as well as stupid. We could have missed the point, Jaden."

"But we got it, didn't we?" Zane nodded. "Then that's all that matters!"

"Try not to be so risky next time, okay?" Jaden nodded happily. The next three kickers got out thanks to Bastion's master catching skills.

"I'll go all out," Zane said, running backwards farther in outfield.

"Ooh!" Jaden said. "Bastion's kicking!"

"This outta be fun," Zane whispered, leaning forward.

"Here it comes!" Henry said, pitching the ball. Bastion ran up and smacked the ball insanely hard. It went flying… toward Jaden and Zane! They both ran to it. Zane dropped to his hands and knees. Jaden jumped on his back for leverage and caught the ball. It slipped out of his hands. Zane saw this and ran close to the ground. He dove and caught it within an inch of the ground.

"Out!" Henry yelled. Zane sighed and dropped his head into the dirt. He threw the ball over his head. Jaden walked over to him and patted his back.

"Nice save," he said. "Sorry for missing."

"Don't sweat it. You tried," Zane said, standing up.

"One to nothing, one out," Henry said. "Batter up!" he yelled.

"Dale is up," Jaden said, bracing his hands on his knees.

"Oh, joy," Zane said, leaning back and stretching. Dale was an Obelisk Blue with dark brown hair and black eyes. He was a complete snob and thought he was the best in school just because he's an Obelisk. Henry pitched the ball to him. Dale smirked and kicked it high in the air.

"Here it comes!" a Slifer senior yelled backing up. Jaden went in his direction just in case. Zane ran forward. The ball was coming down in his direction.

"Crap," Zane cursed. He knew he couldn't catch it; instead he tapped deep within his Romanian soccer skills. He fell back and kicked the ball back to Jaden. Jaden saw this and braced himself. The ball landed perfectly in his arms.

"Out!" Henry repeated. Jaden sighed and tossed the ball back to Henry. He walked over to Zane and offered his hand to him.

"Need help?" he asked. Zane smiled and grabbed his hand.

"Thanks," he said.

"What did you do? That was totally sweet!"

"I activated my hidden Romanian soccer skills to kick it back to you." Jaden laughed.

"That was pretty sweet, man!" He high-fived Zane and patted his back.

"Two outs, you run on _**anything**_!" Henry yelled. "Let's go; batter up!"

The next seven kicks were a disaster! They couldn't get any of them out!

"Chazz is up!" Jaden said. Zane smirked.

"Easy out," he whispered to Jaden. He wasn't calling Chazz a bad kicker or anything, but Chazz's kicks were so high, they were easy to catch.

"You should go farther out if The Chazz is kicking!" Chazz said from the batter's plate. Zane smirked and went out. Henry pitched the ball at quicker than normal speed, at Chazz's request. Chazz kicked the ball as hard as he could. The ball went soaring as Chazz ran the bases. He was at second when the ball hit the ground. Zane cursed and grabbed the ball. He whipped to Jaden. Jaden caught it.

"Here goes… something!" Jaden yelled. He did a front flip and whipped the ball, with the added speed from his flip, at Chazz who was extremely close to home plate. The ball smacked Chazz in the back just before he ran over home plate.

"Out!" Henry yelled in surprise.

"What?" Chazz screamed. Zane's mouth dropped open. He tangled his fingers in his hair and laughed.

"Jaden, you did it!" he yelled. Jaden smiled.

"I did do it!" he said.

"Swap sides," Henry said. Zane and his team walked over to the other side.

"You guys are doing great!" Jaden complimented.

"Thank you," Bastion said. His other teammates scowled and glared at Jaden.

"Batter up," Henry said.

"Your turn," Jaden said to Zane. Zane looked up and yawned.

"Okay," he said. He walked up to the plate. Henry pitched a very bouncy ball. It bounced at least six inches off the ground. Zane kicked up and hit it with his chest. He kicked it behind himself and kicked forward.

"Stop showing off, Zane," Henry said. It got annoying to the opposing team. The girls in the stands were drooling, except Alexis.

"I can't kick that kind of pitch," Zane said, still kicking it around like a soccer star.

"Then give it back." Zane kicked it behind himself before kicking it in front of himself. He balanced it where his foot and ankle meet before he kicked back to Henry.

"Show off," Chazz growled. Henry pitched it again but steadier. Zane kicked it hard but not his hardest. He managed to get to third base. A Slifer was kicking next. He got to second base. Zane couldn't move without risking getting smacked by Chazz with a rubber ball. Chazz was watching him like a hawk. A Ra was kicking. He got to first base. Zane attempted to run, but Chazz was right in front of him. He settled for standing on third.

"Jaden," one of the other players said. Jaden looked at him. "It's your turn to kick."

"Already?" Jaden asked. He got up and walked to the batter's plate.

"Bases are loaded!" Henry said.

"Hit us home, Jaden!" Zane called. Jaden smirked.

"I'll try, Zaney!" he called back. Zane shook his head at the nickname but smiled nonetheless. Henry pitched it. "Here we go!" Jaden yelled. He kicked the ball with all the strength in his foot. It went soaring. Jaden ran around the bases, staring at it. It was falling back down. Normally, it wouldn't be so bad, except… it was headed straight for Jeff. Jeff was known for his master catching skills.

"Run, Jaden!" Zane cried from the bench. The ball was speed-rocketing down to Jeff. Jaden cursed under his breath. He was about to stop running… but the ball slipped right through Jeff's hands! Jaden picked up the pace and made it home just before Chazz whipped the ball at him.

"YES!" Jaden screamed as he ran back to his team.

"Greatest comeback in history!" Zane cried.

_**XxX**_

Zane: what are you doing?

Supreme: what?

Zane: game isn't over yet!

Supreme: I know. It'll be finished in chapter 7

Zane: *sigh* fine…

Supreme: REVIEW!

Zane: it keeps Supreme happy and off of my back

Supreme: literally! *jumps on Zane's back*

Zane: please review!


	7. Kickball pt2 & Crackers

Supreme: I'm here with the rest of the kickball game

Zane: I'm tired

Supreme: you just woke up!

Zane: … Supreme King of Awesomeness does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

_**XxX**_

"Who's up?" Zane asked. Jaden pointed to some random Ra Yellow. The Ra shot his head in Jaden's direction.

"What?" he yelled. Jaden nodded. The Ra sighed and kicked the ball. He got out thanks to Jeff. "Sorry…"

"It's no sweat!" Jaden said, flicking his wrist. Zane turned his wrists, cracking them in the process. "EW…! How did you do that?"

"I dunno," Zane answered. He popped his knuckles.

"Stop!" Jaden cried. Zane shrugged.

The next kick got the kicker on base but not home yet. The next kick got out. Two outs… this was the last inning because they were running out time. Chazz and Dale were so confident that they would win that they insisted that Zane's team go last. The score was 7 to 5. They needed two points to tie and three to win.

'It's my kick…' Zane thought. He braced himself on knees. Henry pitched the ball, and Zane nailed it right in the middle. It went flying; Zane ran to second base as the ball hit the ground. Chazz grabbed it and was about to hit Zane with it. Chazz was two inches from second base. Zane smiled at him. Chazz smiled mockingly and walked to third base after throwing Henry the ball.

"Jaden, you need to kick!" a Slifer said, shaking Jaden by the shoulders. "You and Zane are our star kickers! Zane's out there, so you need to be out there!" He pointed to home plate.

"It's not my turn, though…" Jaden said. The other Slifer sighed.

"Get out there, Jaden, and win this game!" Jaden shrugged and went to the kicking plate/home plate.

'Okay, so Zane is one second base, and Burt is on third… I gotta get them home…' Jaden thought. 'Oh, boy…'

"Jaden, wake up! Here's the pitch!" Henry said, pitching the ball. Jaden ran up and kicked it with all the force he could muster. The ball went flying. Jaden rounded the bases as the others were scurrying for the ball. Chazz, on the other hand, was standing by third base. Zane ran toward him, rather third base. Chazz smirked and stuck his foot out. Zane tripped over his foot and fell onto the sand covered ground. Normally, it wouldn't be so bad, but that part wasn't completely covered in sand. Concrete was under the sand. Zane's knee was scraped and bloody. With sand in the wound, it was even more painful. Jaden saw Zane sitting on the ground in pain, clutching his knee.

"Zane!" Jaden yelled. He ran behind the blunette and grabbed him under the arms.

"What are you doing?" Zane yelled.

"I'm helping you! I'm gonna win this game, too!" Jaden screamed. He began to drag him to home plate. He managed to get Zane's back to touch base.

"You lost the point involving you, Jaden!" Chazz screamed.

"I never touched base, Chazzy!" Jaden yelled. Chazz grabbed the kickball and whipped it at the Slifer Red. Zane quickly moved so Jaden could touch the base. Jaden's foot shot on base like a magnet. He couldn't react to the ball rocketing toward him so the ball nailed him square in the face, knocking him over. Zane crawled over to Jaden.

"Jaden, are you alright?" he asked. Jaden groaned. He put his hand to his nose. "Hey, hey, hey, don't touch it!"

"I'm bleeding, aren't I?" Zane nodded.

"Truesdale, Yuki, get up and go to the nurse's office," Henry said.

"Sir, Zane's knee is scraped. May I help him to the office?" Bastion asked, walking over.

"Yeah, and hurry," Henry instructed. "Yuki, hurry and go with them." Jaden nodded and followed Bastion and Zane. "Gym class is over. Zane's team wins with the score 7 to 8. Those who were on Zane's team, come with me and you get free Gatorade. Will one of you go tell Jaden and Zane that they get free Gatorade?" A Ra nodded and ran off. The students filled out and went to lunch.

_**~Next Day~**_

Outside, Alexis was talking to Mindy and Jasmine by the school entrance. It was cold that day so the girls wore sweaters and jeans under their skirts. Alexis felt something on her shoulder.

"Hi, Lexi," someone said tiredly. Alexis turned her head and saw Jaden.

"Hi, Jay-Jay," Alexis said. Jaden nuzzled his nose in Alexis's shoulder. "How's your nose?"

"It's okay…"

"What's wrong with you?"

"Uh…" Jaden's stomach growled.

"Did you eat breakfast?" Jaden shook his head. "You always eat breakfast. What happened today?"

"I dunno… I'm tired, and I needed to get to class or detention for Jay-Jay."

"Why do you suddenly wanna get out of detention?"

"I'm so bored in detention."

"Go to sleep."

"I did! Crowler kept me up and made me do paper work…" Alexis smoothed out the hair at the top of the brunette's head.

"I'm sorry. Did you get _anything _to eat?" she asked. Jaden shook his head. Alexis pulled something out of her sweater pocket. "Here eat this."

"What is it?" Jaden asked.

"Crackers with chocolate in the middle," Alexis replied. "I know you like them."

"No, it's yours. I'm not taking it."

"Jaden, just eat it."

"No, it's yours!"

"Eat it, or I will force it in your mouth!" Jaden growled and snatched the packet of crackers out of her hand.

"Fine!" he yelled childishly. He opened it and broke one of the crackers up into three pieces. The chocolate was in between two crackers. He put the smaller piece in his mouth. He moaned. "I love you, Lexi." He hugged the blonde from behind.

"You're welcome, Jay," Alexis said, patting his head. Suddenly, Alexis's stomach growled. Jaden put a piece of the cracker on her lips. Alexis moved her head. "I don't want it."

"Yes you do! I'm not deaf, Alexis! I can hear your stomach growling." Alexis sighed and opened her mouth. The moment she did, Jaden put the cracker piece in her mouth. "Do you two want some?" Jaden asked Mindy and Jasmine.

"No thanks," Jasmine said. Jaden slowly put a cracker by her mouth. Jasmine rolled her eyes and took the cracker. Jaden did the same with Mindy.

"I'm good," Mindy said.

"Are you trying to brag?" Jaden asked playfully.

"No, I'm just not hungry."

"Take it."

"No."

"Mindy, he's gonna keep insisting. He could do this all day," Alexis said. Jaden nodded. Mindy sighed and took the piece of the cracker.

"Oh, wow, this is really good!" she said. Jasmine nodded.

"Want another one?" Jaden asked. Mindy shook her head. "Why?"

"It's your food," Mindy said. Jaden pouted and looked at Alexis.

"What?" she asked. Jaden pouted even more, making him look adorable. Mindy and Jasmine awed at him.

"I'm gonna go back to my dorm," Jaden said.

"Okay," Alexis replied.

"Okay."

"Okay."

"I'm going now," Jaden said, turning slightly.

"Bye," Alexis said, waving.

"Lexi, go with me!" Jaden cried, instantly clinging to her.

"Why?" Alexis asked, laughing slightly. Jaden didn't answer but nuzzled his face in her shoulder instead. Alexis sighed. "If I go with you, will you leave me alone for the rest of the day?" Jaden shook his head.

"I'll go by myself!" he said, running off.

"What… happened…?" Mindy asked.

"He doesn't make stupid deals like that. Jaden would rather go a day without fried shrimp than go a week without it," Alexis explained. "It's a little like this situation."

"I get it," Jasmine said. She smirked evilly.

"What?" Alexis asked.

"He loves you too much to leave you!"

"Oh, please." Mindy and Jasmine smiled and giggled. "Why am I friends with you two?"

"Hey!" Mindy said. Alexis smiled. "That was mean!"

"I'm sorry." Alexis looked at them with puppy dog eyes.

"Fine, we forgive you," Jasmine said. Alexis smiled. 'Jaden rubbed off on her,' Jasmine thought.

_**XxX**_

Supreme: Yay! Done with chapter 7!

Zane: why was the rest of the kickball scene so short?

Supreme: because it's the rest of it. It wasn't supposed to be long.

Zane: I wanted to show off my soccer skills some more.

Supreme: you will in later chapters

Zane: Yay!

Supreme: *stares in surprise*

Zane: … I mean… um… whatever…

Supreme: there's the Zane we know and love!

Zane: anyway, _**REVIEW!**_

Supreme: yes, as he said just five seconds ago, _**REVIEW!**_

Zane: or I will eat you

Supreme: don't say that!

Zane: *pouts uncharacteristically*

Supreme: _**REVIEW! Or it's your life! MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**_

Zane: … don't mind Supreme. Someone didn't get there medication today…


	8. Recovery by Peroxide

Supreme: hi-ya!

Zane: Right now, Supreme is working on two other chapters of two different stories…

Supreme: so?

Zane: you need to stick to one story chapter, and then go to a different chapter!

Supreme: well, sorry, Mr. I-should-correct-Supreme-on-every-little-thing-so-I-can-feel-better

Zane: … my name is Zane…

Supreme: okay then…

Zane: I feel offended! *runs off*

Supreme: offended! For what!

Jaden: what did you do this time?

Supreme: whaddaya mean _**this**_ time?

Jaden: … Supreme King of Awesomeness does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Supreme: … *sigh* this is what happened in the nurse's office after Jaden and Zane got hurt P.S. - sorry for such a late update!

_**XxX**_

Zane winced as peroxide made contact with his bloody knee. Ms. Fontaine sighed and gently pressed it on his knee some more. Zane winced more and jerked his leg up on instinct.

"Zane, it's gonna take longer if you struggle," Ms. Fontaine said to the wincing blunette.

"I know; I'm just not used to this. This one of the first injuries I've ever had…" Zane admitted, grasping the area around his knee. Jaden gawked at him.

"Are you serious?" he screamed. "You have not had one injury?"

"I said this is _one of_ the first I've had."

"You're a miracle in a box!"

"I'm in a box?"

"You're a magic banana! You apparently don't get injuries! At least… that often…"

"I'm a careful child—AH!" Zane screamed and grasped his knee again, when Fontaine put more peroxide on his knee. Jaden laughed at him.

"You're such a baby—AH!" Jaden screamed as another nurse put peroxide on a cut by his nose.

"Look who's the baby now."

"Je dèteste vous…"

"I feel your French hatred and return it with brotherly love." He winced as Fontaine put some more peroxide on his knee.

"I hate you even more now… you understand French… stupid smart person…"

"I totally fee—AH! Stupid peroxide burns so much!"

"You're a total b—AH! I hate peroxide!"

"I'm not alone!" Zane yelled. He fell back in his bed and shut his eyes to try and tolerate the sting of the peroxide. See, kids, health is bad for you. Never disinfect you wounds… they hurt…

"I think everyone would agree," Jaden said, wincing as he felt peroxide touch his wound by his nose.

"I think so… AH!"

"_I'm an emo kid, non-conforming as can be…"_ Zane looked over at the desk next to his bed and saw his phone lighting up. He grabbed it and answered it.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Zane, are you in pain?" _someone asked.

"Peroxide, you jerk," Zane answered angrily. "Chazz, you're a jerk."

"_I know. I just wanted to know if you're in pain. Since you are, I'm happy."_

"To be honest, that's surprising coming from an emo kid… y'know being happy and all."

"_I'm not emo, Truesdale!"_

"I'm sorry; it was just a shorter version of emotion wreck of a child!"

"_Go _*censored* _yourself."_

"I feel the same." Zane hung up his phone without looking at it. He glared at who knows what.

"Dude, what was that?" Jaden asked, shocked.

"Chazz likes it when I'm in pain." Zane grabbed his coat. "I'll show him pain." He stood up and was about to walk out, but Ms. Fontaine stopped him.

"Zane, if you hurt him, you get detention or risk getting expelled. I still need to treat your injuries," she said. Jaden nodded and folded his arms behind his head.

"Yeah, man, just chill and lay back. Be a man and do the mature thing… ignore the guy," he said wisely.

"Wow… that was actually… smart…" Zane said, sitting back down on his bed.

"I have my moments." Jaden closed his eyes before shooting up thanks to peroxide.

"If you would stop moving, this would be so much easier for me and a lot less painful for you," Jaden's nurse said.

"Yeah, that's what she said," Zane said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jaden laughed as Zane laughed with him. "I'm not that dense that you can't make 'that's what she said' jokes around me!"

"I couldn't help it!"

"That's what she said!"

"You can make a 'that's what she said' joke out of anything."

"That's what she said…?" Jaden said. Zane grabbed and empty plastic cup next to his bed and threw it at Jaden. Jaden threw it back at him. "There's still water in there!"

"I didn't know," Zane said.

"You should have checked!"

"It was totally empty!"

"It still had some water!" Zane scoffed.

"Yeah, like five drops were left…"

"Yeah well—AH!" Jaden screamed, violently turning to his nurse. "Please, stop doing that when I'm not paying attention!"

"I'm sorry," Jaden's nurse said.

"At least, tell me when you're gonna attack me with peroxide…"

"I will next time." Jaden's nurse put more peroxide on his wound.

"AH! I thought you were gonna tell me!"

"I was… next time."

"Wouldn't that have been considered 'next time'?" Jaden screamed.

"It wouldn't have in my book."

"It has been in my book!"

"I didn't even know you could read…" Zane commented to himself.

"I heard that!" Jaden yelled.

"Why are you yelling so much?" Jaden paused.

"I… well… I… I dunno…"

"Just calm do—OWn," Zane yelled as Fontaine put more peroxide on his wound. "Kill me now… this pain is too much…"

"You're a big baby," Jaden said.

"If admitting I'm a baby will stop this pain then… I'm the biggest baby out there." Jaden fell back on his bed and laughed.

_**~Later that night~**_

"'_Cause I remember every sunset, I remember every word you said,"_ Jaden's phone rang. Jaden groaned and picked up his phone and stared at it. Zane pulled his pillow over his head.

"Answer the freaking phone before I freaking break it," he growled. Obviously, he didn't like being woken up at midnight. Jaden sighed and rolled over on his other side, giving Zane his back. "Don't give me your back."

"Too bad, Blondie," Jaden said.

"I'm not blonde, genius."

"I don't care." Neither of them was a very happy camper at this hour. Jaden answered his phone. "Hello?"

"_Hey, Jaden,"_ the other person said.

"Alexis?" Jaden asked.

"_Yeah, it's me."_

"Why are you calling at this hour?"

"_I thought you were gonna be at the Slifer dorms. Remember, we were gonna have a duel, like you wanted… and some other stuff."_

"Oh, crap… I forgot…"

"_I can see that."_

"What was the other stuff?"

"_I really don't remember, but I know there was something else."_

"I'll duel you tomorrow… or later today since, technically, it is tomorrow, err, today, or, um…" Alexis laughed lightly on the other line.

"_I got, Jay. Um, by the way, I'm sorry I called this late."_

"Yeah, you never answered my first question: why are you calling at this hour?"

"_I dunno… I just missed you, and I wanted to talk to you."_

"You could've called me earlier."

"_I would've, but Mindy and Jasmine took my phone away, claiming I would spend the entire day talking to you."_

"I probably would've had the same problem. I would love to spend the entire day talking to you. I haven't seen you in ten years… I would wanna catch up with you, but a day isn't enough for me. I wish I could spend the last ten years with you…"

"_I understand, but you know what they say, right?"_

"What's that?"

"Shut up and go to bed!" Zane yelled. His voice was somewhat muffled by the pillow.

"No, I'm pretty sure that's not it," Jaden said. "So what was it?"

"_Everything happens for a reason."_

"If you love something, set it free… if it comes back… it was meant to be, right?"

"_The first part is sort of what I think you felt… 'If you love something, set it free.' You had to set me free."_

"The second part is your feelings… 'If it comes back, it was meant to be.' I came back, didn't I?" Jaden smiled. Alexis smiled.

'_I really love that quote…'_ she thought.

'… _It really reflects mine and Alexis's lives…'_ Jaden thought, unknowingly finishing Alexis's thoughts.

"_**JADEN, GO TO BED!**_" Zane screamed. Somehow, the rest of the infirmary (and Duel Academy, for that matter) didn't hear him. Startled, Jaden almost dropped his phone.

"Okay, okay," he said. "I gotta go, Lex, or Zane's gonna pop a blood vessel." He heard Alexis laugh. He could almost imagine her shaking her head.

"_Hey, that's Zane for ya. He hates being woken up early. I'll tell you about that some other time,"_ Alexis said. Jaden laughed.

"I'm gonna hold ya to it! Well, later, Lex," he said.

"_Bye."_

"Bye." Jaden hung up and smiled.

"Finally," Zane growled. Jaden smiled and shook his head.

'_Count on him to ruin the moment,'_ he thought.

_**XxX**_

Supreme: and that's that!

Zane: we made great time too!

Jaden: this took us several days… maybe weeks, thanks to Supreme's procrastination

Zane: well, we finished by… *checks watch* Sweet! 9:47!

Supreme: goal!

Jaden: don't for get to review!

Supreme: again, sorry for the late update…

Zane: well, _**REVIEW!**_


	9. Day Off

Supreme: hello, my friends

Zane: ahem…

Supreme: what?

Zane: shouldn't you be working on something?

Supreme: … not that I—you evil little beast…

Zane: not my fault. You can blame me later, but it wasn't me. Anyway, Supreme's supposed to be studying for a test

Supreme: shut it!

Zane: this psycho doesn't own me or my "friends" or the show I'm apparently in. Enjoy

_**XxX**_

"Sorry, he isn't here," Syrus said.

"Really?" Alexis asked. It was their day off today, meaning no school, no work, etc. She wanted to spend the day with Jaden and catch up with him. She had been looking all over for him, but he was nowhere to be found. This guy was work. "Thanks, anyway," Alexis said to Syrus. The smaller teen nodded and closed the door.

Alexis sighed and headed to the school building. He was, most likely, not there. She had to, at least, try. She entered the school and headed to the entrance leading to the school roof.

'_There isn't any other place he could be,'_ Alexis thought. She opened the door and headed to the roof. When she got to the top, she sighed. _'The last place I think to check is where he is!'_

Jaden was lying on his back on the roof top with his arms folded behind his head. He had a stern look on his face, which was really creepy since this was Jaden. He never has a stern look on his face. He doesn't even know the meaning of the word!

"Jaden," Alexis called. He ignored her. Alexis looked closely at Jaden. Of course, he had ear buds in. The Obelisk Queen walked up to him and lay down next to him on her stomach. Jaden still didn't notice her. Alexis ripped out his left ear bud (because it was closest to her). Jaden instantly shot up to glare at the person responsible but saw Alexis and instantly calmed down.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," Alexis replied. "You look deep in thought."

"I am."

"That's new." Jaden softly glared at the blonde. "I'm joking. Do you wanna talk about it?" Jaden shook his head. Alexis sighed. "I guess I can't ask you nicely. I'm not gonna force you either. I'll be here if you do wanna talk." Jaden nodded. Alexis sighed again and rested her head on Jaden's chest, turning over on her side in the process, and rested her hand on his chest. "By the way, what are you listening to?"

"Simple Plan," Jaden answered, smiling. "The song is _Loser of the Year_: acoustic." Alexis put in the ear bud that she ripped out of Jaden's ear.

"I love your taste in music," she said sarcastically. Don't worry, she liked the song. Jaden gave a small laugh before reverting to his first expression. He laced his fingers with Alexis's fingers on his chest. In doing so, he unintentionally wrapped his arm around Alexis, but it was all good to the Queen of Obelisk. "I also love your shoes." Jaden smiled and clicked his toes together, making Alexis giggle slightly.

His shoes were red and black Harrigan Vans **(1) **with black socks. Jaden also wore a black v-neck t-shirt and loose jeans. Alexis pretty much wore the same except she had white sneakers.

"Why do you always have cheap shoes, and Atticus always had really expensive shoes?" Jaden asked.

"I like saving my money," Alexis answered. Jaden shrugged and laid his head back on the ground. Alexis smiled and tried to rest. She figured that if Jaden wanted to talk about whatever was wrong, he would talk to her. Just as she was about to fall asleep, Jaden spoke up.

"Alexis, do you… um…" he started.

"What is it?" Alexis asked.

"Um… it's… it's nothing…" Jaden said.

"Y'know, if you say it's nothing, it's usually something." Jaden rolled his eyes before closing them. Alexis groaned and returned back to sleeping with the brunette on the roof.

After a few hours of sleeping, they awoke still in each other's arms.

"I'm hungry," Jaden mumbled. After he said that, both his and Alexis's stomachs growled.

"I am, too. Let's go to the Obelisk Dorms and see what's to eat," Alexis suggested.

"I don't think Crowler wants me hanging around one of his Blue students."

"Well, he can take it up with me," Alexis said, standing up and brushing off her pants. She turned back to Jaden. "Are you coming…?"

"Yeah, I guess." Alexis held her hand out for Jaden to take. Jaden smiled and accepted her offer. But, instead of standing up, he yanked her down on top of himself. Alexis blushed, and Jaden smirked. "But I also don't wanna leave your warmth." Alexis frowned and smacked the side of his head. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"I'm gonna hit you again if you're gonna do that!"

"What?"

"Pull me down like that! You scared me half to death!" Jaden pouted.

"Jaden sorry…" he mumbled childishly. Alexis rolled her eyes and stood up again. Jaden followed in suit. He stretched and wrapped his arm around Alexis afterwards. Alexis leaned into his hold and stuck her hand in Jaden's pants pocket. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to get your iPod and change the song," she said.

"Why?" Jaden asked. Alexis ignored him and pulled out his iPod. She skipped to the next song which was _Love Drunk_ by Boys Like Girls. "Why'd you change the song? I liked the other one."

"Well, I didn't."

"It isn't your iPod!"

"Yes, and?"

"Lex, it's my iPod! I can listen to what I want!"

"Jay, I changed it because I know deep down you hated that song."

"… I hate it when you're right." Alexis smiled.

"I love it when you're wrong." Jaden frowned. Alexis laughed and grabbed his forearm. "Come on, big guy, let's get you some food." Jaden pouted and followed only by force.

_**~Later—Obelisk Blue cafeteria~**_

"Will you stop being mad?" Alexis yelled slightly. "It was one song!"

"I know! I'm not mad! I was gonna delete the song anyway!" Jaden yelled back.

"What's the point in lying to me? I know you weren't!"

"Um… Lexi," Mindy said to the blonde. Jaden threw his arms up in annoyance and walked away. Alexis sighed and turned to her friend. "Why are you fighting with your boyfriend?"

"He's being such a—… wait, my what?" Alexis asked.

"Your boyfriend…? Why are your two fighting? Cooperation is key in a relationship," Jasmine said, entering the conversation.

"Jaden isn't my boyfriend…"

"Are you sure? You two act like you're in a relationship," Mindy told her.

"Jaden and I are just good friends," Alexis explained.

"Oh, we know… you two are _**really**_ good friends," Jasmine said. Jaden walked up to Alexis and tugged her shirt. The blonde looked at the brunette.

"Lexi, I'm hungry," Jaden mumbled.

"We're gonna get food in a minute. Gimme a sec, okay?" Alexis whispered. Jaden pouted childishly and stood in front of her.

"I'm gonna starve to death if I don't get food…" Alexis rolled her eyes.

"You're not gonna starve to death." Jaden groaned and held her hand. Alexis pulled him down to her eye level **(2)**. "We're gonna eat soon, I promise."

"How long is soon?"

"Give me five minutes at the most, and stop acting like such a child." Jaden pouted. Alexis pulled Jaden down and whispered in his ear, "I'll get you something really special afterwards, okay?" Jaden's face lit up, and he nodded. The Obelisk Queen smiled. Jaden smiled back and gripped her hand tightly.

"Should I go find a table to sit in, or do you want me to wait right here?" he asked.

"You might as well find a table. I'll be there in a minute," Alexis responded. Jaden nodded and kissed her on cheek. Alexis blushed and let go of Jaden's hand. Jaden smiled and walked off, slightly pulling Alexis's hand. When the blonde's hand fell, the brunette holding it turned around and went in search of a table.

"He isn't your boyfriend…?" Mindy asked.

"No."

"Why isn't he!" Jasmine screamed.

"I dunno! He just isn't!"

"You two are so good together! He's so adorable! He's too innocent for his own good, though."

"But Jaden being innocent means he can't be totally disgusting like the other guys who try to hit on Alexis," Mindy said to Jasmine. Jasmine nodded.

"I'm not going to date him. Jaden and I are just friends. I'm not going to jeopardize that," Alexis said. She walked off to follow Jaden.

"I hope she realizes she likes him before he gets snatched up," Mindy said.

"I didn't like him at first… but he makes Alexis so happy," Jasmine commented. Now it was Mindy's turn to nod.

'_I can't believe they want me to get together with Jaden! He's my best friend, yes. I don't want to jeopardize my friendship with him though…'_ Alexis thought. _'If I start dating him but break up with him… No, no, no! I don't like him like that! He and I are just friends! He doesn't even like me like that! Oh, great… speak of the devil… I found him…'_ There he was… just chatting with… Zane…?

Yup, Jaden and Zane were talking about who knows what, but they were talking. They laughed.

"And then we told him…!" Jaden started before he saw Alexis. "Hey, Lexi…"

"Hey," Alexis replied. Zane lifted his hand to signal a hello. "Mind if I join you?" Jaden laughed.

"Of course, you can! I was looking for a table for you and me to eat at so we can have lunch! Sit down, sit down!" he said. Alexis giggled slightly and sat down on the left side of Jaden.

"What were you two talking about?" she asked.

"Zane, tell her, tell her," Jaden said. Zane smiled at his eagerness.

"Well, I was at this restaurant with Syrus, and this guy walks up behind us in line with a Nintendo DS lite. He was playing Pokémon © or something. He keeps yelling 'Go, Sandshrew, attack Mudkip!' or something like that. I just keep thinking 'Shut up,' or I was gonna kill him," Zane started. "Then I see Jaden! Now I didn't know him at the time so I just thought he was just a kid with a weird hair cut."

"Hey!" Jaden yelled.

"Anyway," Zane said, giving a small laugh, "Jaden walks up behind the guy with the DS and says in this weird voice, 'Sandshrew get back in the water,'" Zane said, imitating Jaden's weird voice. Alexis and Jaden started laughing at the voice he did. Zane laughed with them for a while. "Then the guy's like 'Sandshrews are weak against water!' Jaden and I look at each other, smirking." Jaden and Zane look at each other smirking.

"And then we told him to get lost. No, we're kidding! _'Sandshrews are weak against water!'_

'**I know that!'**" Jaden and Zane yelled in another weird voice **(3)**. They all started laughing.

"Oh, my goodness, you actually told him that! That kid must've gotten so mad!" Alexis said.

"He was!" Jaden and Zane told her.

"He started yelling at us. 'I think everyone knows water is good against Sandshrew!'" Zane imitated.

"'Then why are you using him!'" the Pokémon interrogators said simultaneously.

"You guys are crazy…" Alexis said. Jaden laughed, and Zane smiled. Jaden laughed some more and placed his right hand on Alexis's left cheek before pulling her close to himself. He kissed her cheek lightly. Alexis laughed with him and hugged him tightly. "I missed you so much…" she whispered in Jaden's ear. Jaden smiled and placed his forehead against hers.

"I missed you too," he whispered back. He kissed her lightly. Zane slipped away quietly, smiling to himself. Alexis placed her hand on Jaden's right cheek and kissed back lightly. Jaden pulled back. Alexis blushed realizing what she just did with her best friend.

"I'm sorry, Jaden…" Jaden shook his head.

"No, don't be…" he whispered. He leaned up and placed a feather light kiss on her forehead. "I missed you so much, Alexis. You have no idea." Alexis frowned and hugged Jaden again. She savored every moment with Jaden… because it could be her last. Jaden felt something wet on his shirt. He hugged Alexis tightly. "Don't cry, Lexi…"

"I'm sorry. I'm just afraid to lose you again…" Jaden nuzzled his face in Alexis's blonde hair.

"You won't… I promise you won't…" Alexis sighed and rested her chin on Jaden's shoulder.

"I was laughing on second, then crying the next… what are you doing to me?" Alexis asked her brunette friend. Jaden laughed.

"I dunno," he answered. "I just know you're my best friend… and I wanna keep it that way."

_**XxX**_

** 1)—if you go to Google or Bing and type that in, you will see these awesome shoes that I really like. **

** 2)—in this story, Jaden is taller than Alexis.**

** 3)—Go to YouTube and type in YGOTAS Otakon Panel Part 1 and fast forward or whatever to 1:20 and watch it from there to hear the weird voices.**

Supreme: I am done!

Zane: with the chapter

Supreme: and I'm done with school! I was let out Friday. The test I was studying for… I passed. I had a literature test and a math quest.

Zane: quest….? Don't you mean test?

Supreme: no

Jaden: quiz…?

Supreme: nope, quest. Longer than a quiz but shorter than a test… quest… I passed.

Zane: probably with a 72%

Supreme: no! I got a 97%

Jaden: wasn't it a 96?

Supreme: well, part of the answer was right above what I circled! My teacher gave me my point back.

Zane: ooh, one point big deal!

Supreme: you freak out if you get _**half **_a point off!

Zane: … well, review!

Supreme: *rolls eyes* yeah, okay, then… _**REVIEW AND MAKE ME VERY HAPPY!**_


	10. Hunt for a Friend

Supreme: hey, peeps! I'm here with chapter 10 for ya!

Zane: finally…

Supreme: I didn't take that long to update! (compared to some other updates ^^')

Zane: no, I mean I can finally stop sleeping on the couch!

Supreme: oh, yeah. Zane had to sleep on the couch for like three days. He had bed bugs, and his new bed wouldn't come in until Saturday! Ha, ha!

Zane: shut up! Anyway, Supreme King of Awesomeness does NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Enjoy

_**XxX**_

"Aw right!" Jaden yelled, pumping his fist in the air. "It's day two of the Atticus expedition!"

"I hate this…" Zane grumbled. Now don't get ahead of me here. He's mad because… it's the return of the chauffeur! Jaden was riding on his shoulders.

"Jaden's gonna pay you later, right, Jay?" Alexis said to her childhood friend from ten years ago.

"Uh… yeah, sure…"

"Err-rah!" Zane growled as he ninja-ed Jaden off of his back.

"What was that?" Alexis asked.

"What was what?" the tallest of the three asked.

"That sound you made when you threw Jaden off."

"I dunno." Jaden stood up and brushed off his clothes. He ran up to them until he was standing on Alexis's right side, staying away from Zane, who stood at her left.

"I don't understand why we need to go at night," Jaden said. He, Zane, and Alexis were giving permission to look for Atticus three hours after curfew, yes, but they were restricted from one place in particular.

"Because, dear Jay-Jay," Zane said mockingly, "if Crowler sees you with his precious Obelisks, he shall have a royally popped vein."

"That's one way to put it," Jaden said, chuckling along with Alexis.

"But we're going at night to come… here…" Alexis answered, stopping in front of the abandoned dorm. "If people saw us going here in broad daylight, we'd be kicked off the island for sure."

"Alexis," Zane started, "we aren't supposed to be here." Alexis looked at him.

"I know. That's why we're here at night."

"This is where Atticus went missing, Alexis."

"Zane… I know."

"We're gonna get in serious trouble if we're seen here."

"I just wanna pay my respects to Atticus." Alexis began walking toward the dorm.

"_**Alexis Samantha Rhodes, get away from that dorm this instant!**_" Zane screamed in a fatherly tone. The blonde whipped around to face him.

"… What…?" she muttered. Tears were barely brimming at the edges of his eyes. The blunet turned his head away from her.

"I… I can't lose you, Alexis," he murmured.

"… 'Lose me'…? Zane, what are you talking about?" Zane faced her again.

"You know exactly what I mean. You know that Atticus went missing here a year ago." Tears were forming at the edges of Alexis' eyes, but the tears were already spilling from Zane's. He gave a pained smile. He let out a humorless laugh. "I… I've been through so much loss… _**too**_ much loss. I've lost Travis… I've lost Shannon and Riley… I lost Sandy before I even got to know her… I lost little Ruban." Zane glanced up at Alexis. He didn't even realize his eyes wandered to the ground beneath him. "I lost my _best __**friend**_ at this very dorm… I lost my best friend. I lost your **brother**." Alexis' jaw clenched.

"Zane, I'm pretty sure it wasn't your fault," Jaden told the older boy. The male Obelisk simply shook his head.

"I know it wasn't my fault. I just wish it was. It would make it easier for Alexis to blame it on someone."

"Zane, I would never blame you whether it was your fault or not," Alexis said.

"I know, Alexis. Trust me, I know," Zane told her, nodding slightly. "But you know the damaged done to my life. I lost Travis, my older brother. I lost Shannon and Riley; the triplets in the family along with me… close as can be." Zane let out a pained laugh. "Sandy died at child birth. Ruban got sick and died a few days after his first birthday. Two years ago, Syrus almost died from leukemia." Zane looked Alexis directly in the eye. "And Atticus went missing. I… I can't lose you too. For all I know, you could disappear like Atticus. I could never see you again. Alexis, you're like the little sister I never had, the sister I've always wanted around, but never could because my real sisters are… Well, you know the story, right…?"

"Zane…" Alexis spoke. Zane ran his right hand over his hair and ran it through his hair.

"I love you, Lex. You're my surrogate sister. I can't lose someone so close to me. I wouldn't be able to take it. I especially can't handle the fact that this stuff is happening to the people I love most. Why can't it just happen to me? Just put me out of my misery, right?" Zane said, his voice shaking.

Zane moved backwards, still looking at Alexis. He stopped after a few steps with his hand still in his hair.

"I don't wanna lose you, Alexis. Please, Lex, please, don't go in there," he murmured. Alexis opened her mouth to say something, but her voice was stuck in her throat. Tears fell from her eyes as the blonde backed away. "Alexis, please…"

"I'm sorry, Zane…" the younger Rhodes mumbled. She took off running around toward the back of the dorm.

"Alexis!" Jaden yelled. He looked at Zane, who was staring at the girl's retreating back with hurt, shock, and regret in his eyes. Jaden let out a frustrated sigh and took off after Alexis. "Alexis, come back!" Jaden rounded a corner around the giant dorm. It led to the back of the dorm where Alexis was leaning against the wall. She had her legs hugged up against her chest. She cried silently.

The site broke Jaden's heart. He walked closer to the sobbing blonde. She hadn't noticed him yet. The Slifer walked next to the Obelisk Queen. He kneeled down next to her.

"Lex…" he whispered. The mentioned girl gasped, just noticing his appearance.

"J-Jaden… what… what are you…?" she started. Jaden cut her off.

"Sh," he said. He sat down next to her. The brunet ran his hand over his friend's hair. The blonde looked at him with puffy, red eyes before breaking down and falling against Jaden's chest. Jaden wrapped his arms around her the second she leaned against him. "Sh, quiet… quiet, it's gonna be alright."

"No, Jaden, it won't…" Alexis mumbled. "I never realized how much pain Zane's been through. He lost all, but one, of his siblings. I'm being selfish by not listening to him. I never realized that I could very well go missing and cause him even more pain!" Jaden hugged her tighter and pulled her closer to his chest.

"You're not being selfish, Lexi. You just wanna pay respects to Atticus. Zane understands that, but, at the same time, he doesn't wanna take a risk coming to the dorm with the potential of losing you. I kinda see where's he's coming from. I mean," Jaden paused to let out a humorless laugh, "if I lost you… I'd go insane. I can't, I really mean _**can't**_, lose you, Alexis. You mean too much to me."

"Zane probably hates me now…" Jaden snickered.

"Zane won't hate you. I know that for sure." Alexis' crying seemed to have calmed and slowly but surely stopped. She leaned closer to Jaden, loving the warmth his body was producing. The Slifer King rested his head on top of her head and rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "Do you still wanna pay your respects?"

"I do," Alexis answered. She looked up at Jaden, who was looking down at her. "I wanna go alone though." Jaden stood up and offered a hand to her. Alexis accepted without hesitation.

"That's fine. Just don't go missing on me, got it?" Jaden said playfully. He winked at her, causing the blonde to giggle.

"I'll try my best." Jaden walked up to her and hugged her. He rubbed his hands up and down her back. Alexis hugged back and rested her head on his shoulder. They separated after a few seconds in each others' arms. Jaden kissed Alexis' forehead. Alexis blushed and hugged him again to try and hide it.

"Alright, be careful," the brunet said after they separated for the second time. The blonde queen nodded and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Jaden smiled. "I'll go find Zane, and you go and pay your respects." Alexis nodded again and turned. She walked off in that direction. Jaden walked back the way he came over here.

Not five minutes later, he found his way back to the front of the dorm. He saw Zane sitting against the wall of the dorm with one leg stretched out completely with the other up a few inches from his chest. His arm was resting on the propped up leg. He was facing forward but his eyes were glazed over. He held shock and hurt in his eyes.

Jaden walked up to the Obelisk and sat next to him.

"You okay?" he asked the older of the two. Zane looked up at him and opened his mouth to speak, but the words got caught in his throat. Fresh tears fell from his eyes. Zane fell against Jaden for support as he cried. Jaden didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around him.

"I don't wanna lose her, Jaden," the blunet muttered.

"You're not gonna." Zane calmed down faster than Alexis. He gave a pained smile.

"I'm pretty sure she hates me right now…"

"Dude, are you kidding me? She thinks _you_ hate _her_." Zane looked at Jaden in shock.

"I could never hate Alexis." Jaden let go of Zane and leaned back against the wall of the dorm.

"You two oughta know each other by now, don't cha think?"

"I suppose." Zane stood up and brushed off his pants and jacket. He offered a hand to Jaden, who smiled and accepted it. The blunet helped the Slifer up.

"Thanks," Jaden said. Zane smirked.

"Don't," he said. "I should thank you for… comforting me when I needed it." Jaden smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"Just call us even, man." Zane's smirk grew.

"Agreed," he told the boy. The Obelisk stuck his hand out. Jaden stared at it before smirking himself and grabbed it. He pulled it up and jerked it down in one fluid motion. "Don't go breaking my arm, Jaden."

"Sorry, Zane," Jaden apologized.

"Let's head back to the dorms," Zane said.

"I'll go get Lexi." Zane was about to nod, but…

"AAAAHH!" someone screamed.

"That was Alexis!" Zane yelled. Jaden nodded in agreement.

"We gotta find her!"

"Question: where'd the scream come from?" Both of them stood there. Realization smacked them in the face.

"Inside the abandoned dorm," they both said, shaking their heads. They ran to the dorm in search of the blonde. Zane sped up, and Jaden tried to keep up with him. He was about to run up next to him, but he tripped on something.

"What's this…?" he whispered. He picked it up, and his eyes widened. He stuck it in his backpack and ran up to Zane.

When they reached the core of the dorm, a man clad in black with a mask on stood there. Jaden growled lowly.

"Where's Alexis!" he demanded. The man laughed darkly. Zane growled.

"You better tell us where she is!" he yelled. The man smirked and pointed to a far corner in the room. The two academy boys gasped.

"Alexis!" they screamed. The blonde didn't respond. She was unconscious and lying in a coffin.

"What did you do to her?" Jaden shouted.

"Oh, don't worry about her. Her soul is simply in holding… for something far worse," the man said. "You may duel me for her soul if it means so much to you."

"I'll duel you," Zane growled lowly. "No one messes with my sister."

"Oh, please, you two aren't even related." Zane smirked.

"I know. I consider her my sister. She's just that much to me."

"Fine, we shall duel."

"No," Jaden said sternly. He stood next to Zane. The older student looked at him. "I'll duel you."

"I'm gonna duel him, Jaden. I'm getting the glory for this duel. You can have the spotlight some other time," Zane said.

"Yeah, well, I wanna duel him."

"You're not gonna duel him." The two students started arguing about who was going to duel him.

"Will one of you duel me already!" the man yelled. Jaden and Zane stopped arguing and looked at him. Jaden sighed.

"Fine, your duel," he said.

"Yes!" said Zane.

"Wait, what's your name?" Jaden asked.

"My name is of no importance, but you may call me T," the man said.

"Okay, Mr. T," Jaden said.

"I thought Mr. T was black," Zane said.

"He is. Doesn't he have that Mohawk afro thing goin' on?" Zane nodded.

"Yeah, and-"

"Can we duel yet?" T shouted. Zane looked at Jaden, who shrugged.

"Alright," Zane said. He pulled out his deck. "Jaden, do you mind if I use your catch phrase."

"Oh, please do," Jaden said with a smile.

"Well, then," Zane said. He threw his deck in his duel disk. "Get your game on!"

"Whoa, where did that duel disk come from?" Jaden shouted.

"Um… TV convenience…?" The two shrugged and let it go.

"Before we begin… maybe I should change the scenery to something like… oh, how about the Shadow Realm!" A dark fog surrounded the entire room.

"The what?" the academy boys asked.

"The Shadow Realm…"

"What's that?"

"It's this!"

"I don't get it," Jaden mumbled.

"This is the Shadow Realm! It's very threatening!"

"I dunno," Zane said, looking around, "it kinda looks like my dad's meatloaf surprise gone wrong."

"If you lose this duel, your soul will be devoured by the dark beasts that reside here!" T yelled angrily.

"Eh, I've been through worse," Jaden said.

"What's worse than the Shadow Realm?"

"My dad's singing…"

"…"

"…"

"Um… duel?" Zane suggested. T nodded once, and the coffin Alexis was in closed and sank in the ground. Jaden growled.

"I'll go first!" T yelled, drawing his card. He cackled darkly. "I activate the spell card _Terraforming_ and use it to add the field spell _Pandemonium _to my hand. Next, I'll activate _Pandemonium_!" The dark and dreary scenery didn't change at all but was still really creepy. "Lucky for you, I don't have any monsters I can summon so I'll set one card and end my turn."

**T's Field**

_LP—4000_

_Hand—4_

_Monster(s)—0_

_Spell/Trap—__Pandemonium__ (field spell)_

_Graveyard—__Terraforming _

_Card(s) Removed from Play—0_

"Why did you tell me that?" Zane asked. T didn't answer. Zane sighed. "Anyway, I draw!" He smirked. "I activate _Heavy Storm_ to destroy every spell and trap on the field! That includes your field spell!"

"No!" T yelled. He spells and traps got blown clean off the field.

"Now I activate _Power Bond_!" Zane yelled. "I'm using it to fuse my three _Cyber Dragons_ in my hand to create…!"

"Dat-ta-da-da!" said Jaden.

"Now rise, _Cyber End Dragon!_" A giant mechanical dragon rose from the ground. Its three heads roared at T. "Thanks to _Power Bond_ my dragon's points double!"

"As in 4000 big ones!" Jaden yelled enthusiastically.

"Exactly," Zane said, smirking. "Now attack!" The three headed beast formed three spheres of light in front of themselves. "Go! Super Strident Blast!" The dragon blasted T with the three spheres which turned to giant beams of light.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" T yelled as his life points depleted. Zane uncharacteristically pouted.

"I thought he had something up his sleeve. That was boring," he mumbled.

"Talk about anti-climactic," Jaden said. Zane nodded. "Whoa, cool effects… He's really getting into scaring us with this Shadow Realm thing."

"I know. I mean, look at those holograms! They actually look like something that could eat us! And sacrificing himself for the sake of it is serious dedication," Zane said.

"He should work for a movie company rather than duel."

"He's better at this than he is dueling."

"_Kuri, kuri!_" _Winged Kuriboh_ squeaked.

"Oh, hey," Jaden said to the fur ball. "What's up, fuzz ball?"

"Jaden, who are you talking to?" Zane asked.

"My duel spirit," the Slifer said. _Winged Kuriboh_ flew over to the end of the fog. He clawed at it. "Oh, hey, it's an opening."

"Let's get outta here before these holograms get to me." The two ran over to the opening. Jaden jumped through it.

"Ow, my butt!" he groaned.

"Watch out!" Zane called before he jumped out. Jaden rolled out of the way, and Zane landed with a thud. "That definitely hurt…" A soft groan was heard.

"Alexis!" Jaden said with realization. He ran over to Alexis' coffin and pried it open. The blonde stirred but otherwise didn't wake up. "Lexi, it's time to wake up." Jaden patted her cheeks. Zane stumbled over to them. He stood next to Jaden and grabbed Alexis' shoulders.

"Come on, Alexis," he said softly. "You… you need to get up now…" Alexis didn't respond. Zane eyes watered. _'I can't lose her…'_ He shook her slightly. "C-Come on, Alexis… Now isn't the time for games…" The girl didn't respond. Tears spilled from Zane's eyes. "Lexi… you gotta wake up…"

"No…" Jaden murmured. Tears poured from his eyes. He grabbed Alexis' shoulders. "Lex, wake up!"

"Alexis…" Zane mumbled. He slowly dropped his head and folded his arms on the side of the coffin. He sobbed quietly into his arms. He shook with fear and sadness.

"Why are you crying, Zane…?" a feminine voice asked. Zane looked up and saw Alexis, who looked like she just woke up.

"Lex…" Jaden hugged Alexis and nuzzled his face in her neck. Zane just stared at her. Alexis hugged Jaden back and stared at Zane.

"Is there something on my face?" she asked. Zane smiled slightly and shook his head.

"No, not at all… I'm just happy we saved you in time…" Alexis smiled and gently pushed Jaden off of herself.

"Let's get back to the dorm." The boys nodded and helped her out of the coffin. The three of them ran out of the Abandoned Dorm.

"Are you okay, Alexis?" Jaden asked when they got outside.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, you two," Alexis said. Jaden and Zane nodded. Zane looked off in the distance and groaned.

"The sun's gonna come up soon," he said.

"Zane, get outta here!" Jaden yelled.

"What? Why?"

"You've got a reputation to keep up! Go!" Zane growled but ran off to his dorm anyway.

He quickly and quietly climbed up the tree by his balcony. He pried open the balcony doors and flung his shoes off. He hopped in bed and yanked the covers over his head.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jaden asked again.

"I'm fine, Jay, really," Alexis answered again. Jaden nodded and hugged her out of the blue.

"Please, never do that again." Alexis smiled and hugged him back. She nuzzled her face in his neck.

"I'll do my best…" Jaden smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"You need to get back to your dorm." Alexis sighed.

"I know." They broke away and held each other at arm's length. Alexis sighed again. "I guess I'll get back to my dorm." Jaden nodded. Alexis let go of his arms and started walking away.

"Oh, Alexis, wait!" Jaden called. The Obelisk queen turned around and saw Jaden running toward her. The Slifer pulled out a picture in a frame. "I tripped over this when Zane and I were looking for you. I thought I'd keep it and give it to you." Alexis gasped and slowly took the picture from him.

"Atticus…" she murmured. The picture was of Atticus with his arms crossed over his chest and smirk on his face. His signature was at the bottom. Alexis looked up at Jaden. "Thank you so much, Jaden." The Slifer scratched the back of his head and smiled.

"It was no big deal." Alexis shook her head and quickly leaned forward, kissing the brunet square on the lips.

"Thanks you, Jaden." Jaden smiled and hugged her one last time.

"Again… no big deal…" Alexis smiled and started walking toward her dorm. Jaden smiled wider and began walking to his dorm.

Alexis entered her dorm quietly, careful not to wake anyone. She pulled off her shoes and sat on her bed. He placed the picture of Atticus next to the picture of her and Jaden when they were kids.

'_I sure owe a lot to that lazy Slifer…'_ she thought. She smiled again and lay down in her bed. Alexis pulled the covers over herself and tried to get as much sleep as she could before class.

_**XxX**_

Supreme: and that concludes chapter 10

Zane: I think this is the longest chapter for this story

Supreme: it is. Over 3 thousand words…

Zane: … Yay…?

Supreme: anyway, _**REVIEW!**_

Zane: it will make us very happy

Supreme: sorry that Zane was OOC in this chapter

Zane: I think _**maybe**_ it was to get the chapter to make sense. Of course, I'm just guessing!

Supreme: … anyway, _**REVIEW!**_

Jaden: our little friend will be happy if you click him.

_**REVIEW BUTTON**_: click me! Click me!


	11. Missing Pants

Supreme: I'm here, I'm here, worry not!

Zane: sorry for taking such a long time to update!

Supreme: My brain has been so dead lately! DX

Jaden: anyway, here is chapter 11 of the long awaited _You're Mine Twice_!

Supreme: I hope it was worth the wait!

Zane: probably not…

Supreme: shut it!

Jaden: Supreme King of Awesomeness does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

_**XxX**_

_**KNOCK! KNOCK!**_

"Who the heck is that…?" Jaden grumbled. He looked at his digital clock on the mini shelf on his bunk just above his head. It read: _7:15_

"Jaden, get the door…" Syrus groaned lazily. He rolled over to face the wall. Jaden sighed and threw his covers off.

He shivered feeling the chills of the cool air conditioning from the night before. It was even colder for him since he didn't bother putting his pajamas on. He just stripped to his boxers. He grabbed his Slifer coat and slipped it on in an attempt to get some warmth. The lazy Slifer walked to the door and opened it.

A group of adults in uniform stood at his door.

"Are you Jaden Yuki?" the leader, as Jaden guessed, asked him. Jaden nodded. "Then you'll have to come with us, and Syrus will as well."

"Uh… sure…?" Jaden said. "Can I put some pants on first?"

_**XxX**_

"So why are we here?" Jaden asked. He and Syrus were in a giant room, talking to Chancellor Sheppard, Dr. Crowler, the leader that was at their door, and Prof. Banner.

"Before I answer that," Chancellor Sheppard said, "why aren't you wearing any pants?"

"I was going to, but whoever this person is-"

Jaden pointed at the person who appeared at his dorm room.

"-grabbed me and yanked me out the door and tossed me in some van."

"She is the leader of the Disciplinary Action Squad," Crowler said, identifying the person.

"Yeah~" Jaden stretched, "that doesn't sound lame at all."

"Do want to get into more trouble than you're already in?" the DAS leader yelled.

"I'm in trouble?"

"A lot of it," Sheppard said.

"What'd I do?"

"You went to the abandoned dorm, didn't you?" Crowler asked in a matter-of-fact tone.

"_You went to the abandoned dorm?"_ Syrus whispered to Jaden, starting to freak out.

"Well…" Jaden started, "yeah…"

"I think they should be expelled," the DAS leader said.

'_Pretty please with cherries on top, shut your freaking mouth,'_ Jaden thought to her.

"I think we should arrange a tag-team duel," Crowler said slyly.

'_I know I'm not too bright, but the guy's got something up his frilly sleeves,'_ Jaden thought.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Sheppard said.

"I agree," Banner added, petting Pharaoh.

"And Syrus can be your partner!" Crowler added. Syrus' eyes widened.

"Why him!" Jaden asked defensively. "He had nothing to with my going to the Abandoned Dorm! He's innocent! He didn't even know I was going there!"

"If he wasn't there then why is here now?" Sheppard asked, clearly confused.

"I don't know! All I know is he was tossed in the same van as me, and we ended up here!"

"He probably kept Jaden's going there a secret," Crowler said.

"Didn't I say he had nothing to with it?" Jaden screamed. "I never told him! The only other people who know are the ones who went with me!" Jaden instantly slapped his hands over his mouth. _'Crap, I wasn't supposed to say that…'_

"Who else went with you?" Sheppard asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jaden said quickly.

"It will be so much easier if you just tell us who was with you."

"No one went with me. Who went with me? I have no idea what you're talking about!" Sheppard sighed.

"Jaden, I'm gonna have someone escort you back to my office. We'll continue this conversation later. I'm sorry for accusing you, Syrus." The screens that showed the adults shut off.

_**XxX**_

"Zane!" someone yelled. The mentioned Obelisk turned to see his friend Alexis running toward him.

"Hi, Alexis," he said. "Are you feeling better?"

"Forget that!" the blonde said. Zane scrunched his eyebrows. "Jaden and Syrus are in trouble!"

"Why is that?" he asked calmly.

"They got in trouble for going to the Abandoned Dorm!" Zane was furious. He stood up from his spot under the tree that was near his dorm.

"Why is Syrus in trouble? He wasn't even there!"

"That's just it!"

"What in the world…!" Zane growled and ran toward the school.

"Zane, where are you going?" Alexis asked, running after him.

"I'm going to tell the chancellor that I was there, not Syrus!" Zane ran as fast he could to the chancellor's office with Alexis hot on his heels, which was surprising since she was wearing high-heels.

Zane skidded to a stop in front of the chancellor's office and walked with Alexis into the giant room.

When they entered, they saw Jaden sitting in one of the chairs in front of Chancellor's desk, bored out of his mind. He was staring at the ceiling. As soon as he heard the door open, he sat erect in his seat.

"Alexis, Zane!" he said, surprised.

"Mr. Truesdale, Ms. Rhodes, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Sheppard asked, turning around in his chair to face the two students.

Zane and Alexis immediately slouched over and started panting as they were holding their breath for a while. Zane held up his index finger, asking for a moment of patience.

"I… wanted… to say…" Zane started, in between pants.

"… That… I… was… with…. Jaden… at the… Abandoned Dorm…!" Alexis wheezed out, leaning against Zane's panting figure. Zane nodded and continued trying to catch his breath.

"Syrus… is innocent…!" he continued.

"I know, I already sent him back to his dorm with an apology," Sheppard said. Zane nodded and rested his hands on his knees.

"Geez, what'd you guys do? Run a marathon?" asked Jaden. He stood up and looked at the two. The two Obelisk students looked at him and stared at him with confused expressions.

"Where… are your pants…?" Zane gasped, still trying to get his breath.

"Huh…? Oh!" exclaimed the Slifer. "I was kinda dragged over here before I could get them on." Jaden scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Alexis waved it off and stood up straight.

"But anyway," she said, "we ran here from the blue dorms in… about thirty seconds."

"It couldn't have been that bad!" Zane glared at him. Jaden paled and laughed nervously.

"But back to the matter at hand," Sheppard said, "Ms. Rhodes, Mr. Truesdale, did I hear you two correctly? Were you really at the Abandoned Dorm, or are you just trying to defend Jaden?"

"No, we were really there! I dueled this one guy, too! He was weak though. I beat him in one turn, so that was no fun!" Zane said, standing straight.

"I heard that Jaden might be in a tag-duel," Alexis inquired.

"That is correct. I was planning on pairing him with Syrus, but the boy wasn't even there with Jaden at the dorms," Sheppard said.

"I'll duel!" Zane said quickly, startling everyone else.

"Mr. Truesdale, are you sure?" Zane nodded. "This could tarnish your reputation."

"I know, but I won't let Jaden shoulder the blame for something I was also a part of."

"No, I'll be his partner," Alexis butted in. "Zane, whatever happened to that not dueling anyone but high-ranking duelists?"

"I need to take responsibility for my actions. I need to put my pride aside and take responsibility."

"You really are a model student," Sheppard told him. Alexis groaned.

"No, don't say that; it'll just get to his head," she said playfully. Zane glared at her. Alexis smiled and patted his arm.

"That doesn't happen to me… maybe my dad, but not me," Zane said quietly. "But seriously, please put me in that duel."

"I should duel!" Alexis suddenly yelled again. "I was the one forcing them to go."

"Hm… I'll think about it. For now, both of you, go back to your dorms and relax," Sheppard told them.

"Yes, sir," the two Obelisks said, bowing to him in respect.

"What… what about me?" Jaden asked.

"You can go as well, Jaden. You three will be punished. Be sure of that much," Sheppard said. He shooed them off as soon as he finished. The three left the office.

"Um, yeah…~" Jaden started.

"What's wrong?" Alexis asked him.

"I still don't have pants."

_**XxX**_

Supreme: okay, sorry it was so short! I'll update faster next time! You have my *BLEEP*ing word!

Zane: luckily, she already has the next chapter idea in her head, so it shouldn't take too long

Supreme: and if I don't update in… a week, two tops! You can virtually slap me through PMs!

Zane: *gasp* don't you dare update this story, Supreme!

Supreme: HEY! JERK!

Zane: fine… I'll slap you myself… *slaps*

Supreme: OW!

Jaden: … review! Please, please! *puppy dog eyes*


	12. Untitled

Supreme: bleh…

Zane: … I don't know what's wrong with you, but I'm gonna start the chapter

Jaden: *from afar* DON'T FORGET THE DISCLAIMER!

Zane: Supreme King of Awesomeness does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

_**XxX**_

Jaden yawned as he woke up that morning. He glanced at the clock above his head. It read: _51:9. _

'_What the heck?'_ he thought. He rolled over onto his stomach and reread the clock. His mouth made and "O" shape. _'It says, '6:15.''_ He nodded to himself before rolling back onto his side to rest. After about three seconds, his eye flung open in shock, and he rolled back onto his stomach and stared his clock. _'6:15?'_ he mentally screamed. _'Is this 6:15 in the MORNING, or did I over sleep until 6:15 in the NIGHT?'_ Jaden looked out the window… or try to, at least.

The dim light shining through the curtain told him it was probably morning.

'_The sun is still coming up…'_ Jaden thought tiredly. He immediately perked up. He grabbed his pants that were hung on his desk chair and pulled them on. He ran outside and went to the edge of the walkway on the second level. He looked out to the ocean. He smiled and got an idea. He rushed back to his dorm room. He opened the door and stood up to Syrus' bunk, using his own bunk as leverage.

He was about to wake the occupant of the bunk, but the low murmurs of the smaller Slifer made the brown-haired boy stop.

'_I'll let him sleep in today,'_ he thought.

"I'm sorry, Zane… I… didn't… mean to make you… upset… I just wanna make you… proud…" Syrus muttered.

"What's he muttering this time?" Jaden asked himself. He was about to keep listening to the younger boy, when Chumley rolled over on the top bunk. He had something in his hands. When the older koala duelist rolled over with his back to the wall, the item in his hands fell.

"Gah..!" Jaden silently yelled, trying to stifle his surprise. The item in Chumley's hand happened to be a potato chip bag that was full of uneaten chips that landed directly on Jaden's head. He stood in his place, shocked of what just happened.

When Chumley groaned with an aggravated face, Jaden quietly yelped in fear. He hopped off the bunks and ran out the door. Promptly after such, he heard something that made him thankful he wasn't in the dorm.

"_**WHERE ARE MY CHIPS?"**_ Chumley screamed. If that didn't wake Syrus up, I don't know what will.

Jaden walked down the stairs of the Slifer dorm and walked around to the back. He leaned against the back of the dorm and stared at the sun rise. He smiled softly.

"Now what was Sy blabbering about…?" he said to himself. "Something about Zane…"

For the next few hours, Jaden just stood and watched the horizon. He finally sighed and walked off to the cafeteria to get some breakfast.

"I miss having my breakfast belt prepared in the morning…" Jaden mumbled to himself. He walked in the Slifer mess hall and sat at his usual table. He yawned and leaned against the wall. He flinched slightly since he had no shirt on. _'Cold wall…!'_ he thought. He looked at the clock at the front of the cafeteria.

It read: _9:45 AM_.

"Why isn't anyone down here?" Jaden asked himself.

"Because everyone already had breakfast," Syrus said, walking up to him. Jaden looked over at his roommate.

"Really?" he asked. Syrus nodded. Jaden pouted. "Oh, I gotta see Lex soon."

"Do you guys have a date?"

"Nah, I just wanted to duel her. I wanna see if she's gotten better since that _incident_," Jaden told Syrus.

"What incident?"

"You, girls' dorm, expulsion, the age old story…" Syrus blushed.

"Never bring that up again." Jaden laughed.

"You got it, buddy." Jaden stood up from his seat and stretched.

"You're not having breakfast?" Jaden shook his head.

"Nah, I'll have some of Lexi's breakfast." He smiled and walked out the mess hall.

_**~A few hours later~**_

Jaden wandered around campus in hopes of finding Zane.

'_Why was Syrus mumbling something about wanting to make Zane proud? Zane's a great guy! He's funny and a caring guy! If he was my brother, I'd be really happy! Zane's great, but… something had to have triggered that dream…'_ he thought to himself.

He wandered around some more until he found himself in front of the Obelisk Blue Boys' dorms. He walked onward until he bumped into someone.

Somewhere else (the beach basically), Zane was strolling around. He had his hands in his pockets, and he was staring at the sand as he walked.

'_When was the last time I had time to myself like this?'_ he thought. Zane smiled. It was his only chance to be a kid again. He shook his head at the thought. Zane shrugged and whipped himself around. He smirked and ran off before jumping up and kicking his heels together.

After he landed, Zane smiled widely and started laughing to himself.

"Wow!" he yelled. "When was the last time I did that?" Zane calmed down after a few seconds. He stuck his hands back in his pockets and sighed. "This could be last chance to be a complete idiot." Zane smiled softly. "I miss doing this."

After about twenty minutes of doing nothing, Zane got bored and made the unlikely decision to skip around for a few seconds. On his way, his foot slipped and got caught under a piece of cement, scuffing his shoe in the process. Zane groaned and pulled his shoe out from under the cement.

"Ah, seriously?" he asked. "There go my _new_ shoes…" He sighed and decided to head back to his dorm. _'I just had a weird, out-of-character moment… what fun!'_ he thought sarcastically.

As he drew nearer to his dorm, he saw three figures in front of the gate: two blue, one red.

"C'mon, guys, I just wanna talk to Zane!" the figure in red told the two clad in blue (Dang, stop rhyming!).

"No way, you slacker," one of the blue students told him, "Zane won't waste his time with someone like you."

"Yeah, you're probably still wet behind the ears from pre-duel school," the other blue said.

"'Wet behind the ears'…?" the red student said.

Zane walked closer to examine the situation better. The red student was Jaden; the two blues were seniors, Marcus and Billy.

"I am not!" Jaden yelled. Marcus and Billy threw buckets of water on the poor Slifer, drenching him to the bone.

"Now ya are!" Marcus said snobbishly. For added humiliation, Billy took his bucket and slammed it over Jaden's head, shoving him to the ground as he did so. Jaden removed the bucket and rubbed his head. The two Obelisks turned and were about to walk away.

"Hey!" called Zane angrily. Marcus and Billy turned and looked at him.

"Oh, hey, Zane," Billy said, smirking.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?"

"Just takin' care o' some slacker," Marcus said. "We took care o' him. Don't need to waste your time with him."

"'Taking care'?" asked Zane. "No, what you guys are doing is bullying him." Zane walked closer to them. "Just because he's in a lower class and dorm from you doesn't give you the right to bully him!"

"Why are you sticking up for him?" Billy asked.

"I don't need to answer to you."

"C'mon, this punk is just worthless!" Marcus said. Jaden froze at the word.

"Why? Because he's in red?" Zane retorted. "Do you remember two years ago? There was a Slifer with blue hair and flaming red tips."

"That kid was a complete loser," Billy said, "proud to be in red."

"That _loser _was me!" Zane yelled. "I was a Slifer! I was a **red**! I was _**proud **_to be in red!"

"_You _were a _Slifer_? The best duelist in school was a **red**?"

"Because Jaden's a Slifer, it automatically makes him _worthless_?" Zane yelled. Jaden cringed at the word. "If so, then I'm just as worthless!" Jaden curled up in fetal position. Zane glanced at him. He turned back to the other Obelisks. "Did you know you can get in some serious trouble for bullying?"

"Since when?" asked Marcus, getting scared.

"Since Duel Academy started, people have gotten detentions for _weeks _just for bullying. Seto Kaiba doesn't allow bullying. He set the rules. He does not tolerate it. Neither do I," Zane told them sternly. "I _will_ report you two. If I see you bullying _anyone_, especially a Slifer, I'll deal with you myself."

"But-"

"**Do I make myself clear?**"

"Y-Yes, K-Kaiser!" Marcus and Billy said.

"B-But, Zane," Billy stuttered, "he's just a worthless punk!"

"**STOP!**" Jaden screamed with his hands shielding his head.

Zane kneeled down next to him and placed his hand on Jaden's shoulder. Jaden flinched and jerked away. Zane's eyes widened. Jaden stood up and ran as far away from the blue dorms as he could. Zane stood and looked back at Billy and Marcus.

"What did you guys do to him?" he questioned.

"Nothing except throw the buckets on him, but I doubt that causes trauma!" Marcus yelled. Zane growled lowly.

"If you don't want to get detention, I suggest you stop bullying and go back to your dorms, you snobs," he growled.

Before they could say anything, Zane ran off to find Jaden. On his way to find the Slifer, he ran into Alexis… literally.

"Hey, Zane," the blonde said.

"Sorry, Lex, but I'm kinda busy right now," Zane said hurriedly.

"Busy…? With what…?"

"Jaden ran off a while ago after some Obelisks were bullying him."

"That's not like him to run off."

"That's why I wanna find him."

"You don't mind if I join you, do you?" Zane shook his head. They ran off to find the Slifer.

After about two hours of running, they ended up in the forest.

"I can't… breathe…" Zane said, leaning against a tree.

"Oh… come on… it wasn't… that bad…" Alexis said, panting. She turned and saw a figure in red huddled up against a tree. "Is that Jaden?"

"Where?" asked Zane. Alexis pointed in the direction of the Slifer. Zane was about to walk over to him, but Alexis placed a hand on his chest, stopping him. "What's wrong?"

"I should talk to him," Alexis told him. Zane didn't argue, knowing she was already set on this. He nodded and leaned back against the tree. Alexis smiled at him. "Thanks for not making it difficult." Zane smirked.

"I'm not very difficult." It was Alexis' turn to smirk now. The blonde in question walked quietly toward Jaden. She kneeled down next to him and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Zane told me what happened with those Obelisks," she said. Jaden sighed. "What happened that made you run?" Jaden shook his head.

"Not again…" he mumbled.

"What?" Alexis rubbed circles in his back. Jaden shook his head and let his head drop onto Alexis' shoulder.

_**XxX**_

Supreme: woo! Sorry for the wait, guys!

Zane: it was only a week

Supreme: well, more like a week and two days

Zane: eh, details

Supreme: the next chapter will explain Jaden's trauma

Zane: so, **DO NOT ASK WHY IT DOESN'T EXPLAIN JADEN'S RUNNING AWAY!**

Supreme: REVIW! Don't be afraid! The review box doesn't bite!

Zane: it will if you don't review

Supreme: anyway, _Please take like, ten to thirty second of your life to write something in the review box!_

Zane: the more reviews: the longer the chapter or (if it's a short chapter) quicker updates

Supreme: PLEASE REVIEW!

Zane: Jaden would be more than happy to bake cookies for you if you do so

Jaden: wait… what?


	13. The Reason

Supreme: alright, let go!

Zane: I can't believe you just copied and pasted this onto a different sheet!

Supreme: … I don't own GX or Naoto and Kallen Kozuki!

Zane: *Sigh* enjoy

_~Flashback~_

_In an alley—dead of night—screams and cries were heard. A man in his mid-thirties towered over a young boy, who was cowering in fear. The boy was around six-years of age. He huddled against the dumpster behind him._

"_You worthless punk!" the man yelled, smirking. He kicked the young boy in the side. The boy cried out in pain. "You're worthless, just like your father!" The young boy froze at the mention of his father._

"_M-My father…?" he whispered. The man kicked him again. The boy screamed._

"_Shut up!" The man kicked him repeatedly. The boy cried and screamed. "You worthless, worthless, __**worthless**__ piece of trash!"_

"_Please stop!" the boy cried out. This caused the man to injure him further._

"_What's wrong, boy?" Another kick was sent the boy's way. "No one's gonna find you! No one wants you!"_

"_Th-that's not true!" Kick. "AH!"_

"_Who's gonna come get cha, boy? No one loves ya!"_

"_M-My mom's gonna come get me!"_

"_Aw, your mama's gonna come save the day?" The man let out a sickly laugh as he delivered another kick to the boy. "I'll kill her just like your father!" The small boy looked at him in terror._

"_Y-You killed my father…?"_

"_Shut it, boy!" The boy cried out as he was once again kicked. "My goodness, boy, you've got such a loud mouth!" The man bent down in front of the small child. "I think I know a way to shut you up." _

_The small boy quivered in fear and curled into a tight ball. The man struck the boy in the face with his open hand in a slap. The boy bit his lip, trying not to scream. The man smirked and punched the child. He stood up straight, again, towering over the boy. He kicked him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him._

"_Worthless, worthless, worthless!" he screamed. Tears poured out of the young boy's eyes as he was continually being beaten._

"_What do you think you're doing?" a different voice yelled. Since it was so dark out, neither the man or boy could see his face. The boy's abuser tried to run for it, but the stranger tackled him to the ground, pinning him to the gravel._

"_Get off me!" the abuser yelled, struggling fruitlessly against the man above him._

"_After what you've done to that poor boy?" he yelled. "I don't think so!"_

"_Are you okay?" someone else asked the boy, kneeling down next to him. The younger jumped in surprise and fear. "Don't worry. I promise I won't hurt you." This man's face could barely be seen. He had a look on his face that indicated to the boy that he wanted nothing more than to help him. "What's your name?"_

"_J-Jaden…" the boy answered._

"_My name is Naoto," the second man said. "I'm gonna take you to the hospital, okay?" Jaden nodded hesitantly. _

_Naoto was about to pick him up, but a knife flew in front of him and slashed Jaden in the side. Jaden cried out and clutched his side. Naoto looked in the direction where the knife came from. He saw his companion lying on his back, clutching his side also._

"_N-Naoto, don't let him get away!" his friend said. Naoto saw the abuser was already running, so he followed after him. Being younger and fitter, he was able to catch him quickly. The friend called the police and an ambulance. _

_After about three to five minutes, the police and ambulance arrived and rushed to the scene. A pair of paramedics rushed to Naoto's friend as another pair rushed to Jaden's side. Police cuffed the abuser and shoved him into the back of their cruiser. _

_Three minutes later, Jaden passed out due to blood loss._

_When Jaden came to, he slowly opened his eyes and looked around. From what he saw, he was in a white room with a steady beeping in the background. He groaned softly._

"_Look, who's awake," someone said from next to him. Jaden quickly looked over to his right side and saw the man who had saved him lying in the bed next to his. Naoto stood next to his bed._

_That's when Jaden noticed his features. Naoto's friend had mildly spiky dark brown hair and deep green eyes. Bandages were wrapped around his head and left arm. _

_Jaden noticed Naoto's features as well. Naoto had dark red hair that was almost shoulder length and blue eyes. He had a red band around his forehead. He wore a brown jacket with a black shirt underneath along with jeans and black sneakers._

"_I-I'm so sorry!" Jaden squeaked, turning to face the other way._

"_Why are you sorry?" Naoto asked._

"_You saved my life, and you get hurt because of me!" Jaden said, turning back to face Naoto's friend._

"_I __did__ save your life," the friend said, pointing to Jaden with a small smirk. Naoto rolled his eyes._

"_Oh, dear…" he muttered._

"_If I hadn't interfered, he would've beaten you to—OW!" Naoto's friend said, cutting himself off when Naoto hit his arm._

"_Lloyd!" Naoto hissed._

"_What?" Lloyd hissed back. "But really, kid, it was no problem."_

"_Thank you so much, Mr. Lloyd," Jaden said._

"_Just call me Lloyd," Lloyd told him. Jaden nodded._

"_What about Mr. Naoto? I helped you too, didn't I?" Naoto asked playfully. Jaden's eyes widened._

"_I'm sorry, Mr. Naoto! Thank you for helping me! Please don't beat me!" he shouted terrified._

"_I was just kidding, Jaden," Naoto said, walking over to Jaden bed. He kneeled down in front of his bed. "I'd never beat you."_

"_You wouldn't…?" Jaden asked cautiously. Naoto shook his head. That's when the door to the room slammed open. Janice ran inside and stopped at Jaden's bed._

"_Jaden, are you okay?" she asked with tears in her eyes._

"_Are you his mom?" Naoto asked._

"_Yes, who are you?" _

"_I'm Naoto Kozuki," Naoto said, holding his hand out. Janice shook it. "My friend," Naoto said, gesturing to Lloyd, who waved, "stopped the guy who was beating up your son."_

"_What!" Janice yelled, looking back at Jaden. "Who did this?" Jaden shook his head. Knowing he would talk any time soon, Janice turned to Lloyd. "You were the one who saved my son?"_

"_Yup," Lloyd chirped with a smile. "Lloyd Series," he said, holding out his hand. Janice made her way to her bed and shook his hand._

"_Thank you so much."_

"_It was no big deal. It's what anyone would've done."_

"_Um, Mrs.… uh…" Naoto said._

"_Oh!" Janice said. "Where are my manners? I'm Janice Yuki!"_

"_Oh, Mrs. Yuki, are you going to take legal action against the man hurting Jaden?"_

"_He was arrested already, wasn't he?" Lloyd asked._

"_He can have a different sentencing if Mrs. Yuki takes legal action… right?" Naoto said unsure._

"_I deal with that later. For now, I just want to make sure Jaden's safe," Janice said to the older boys. "Again, thank you for helping my son." Naoto and Lloyd smiled._

"_It was nothing," they answered._

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

"_Sorry, I gotta take this," Naoto said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Hello? … Kallen, what are doing with Mom's phone? … I'm at the hospital right now. Kallen, calm down! Lloyd got hurt not me! … I'll be home soon, okay? … Okay, I love you, too. Bye." Naoto turned to Lloyd. "Sorry, my sister wants me home soon. I better head out now."_

"_Later, Naoto," Lloyd said. Naoto nodded and turned to Janice._

"_It was great meeting you, Mrs. Yuki!"_

"_Wait!" Janice said. "I should repay you somehow!"_

"_No, don't do that!" Naoto said almost immediately._

"_Why not?" Lloyd asked, liking the idea of being repaid._

"_Well, I, uh… well…" Naoto stuttered. _

_-Insert light bulb going off above Naoto's head-_

"_I know!" he said. "I'll give you my number! You can call me when you want to repay us since Lloyd really wants to be repaid," Naoto said with a small laugh. Naoto wrote down his number a piece of paper that… came from nowhere and handed it to Janice. "To be honest, I'd really love to see Jaden again." Jaden blushed in embarrassment. "Maybe he and Kallen can become friends." Naoto smiled and sighed. "Well, I gotta go. Nice meeting you, Mrs. Yuki, Jaden. See ya, Lloyd."_

"_You gonna take a cab?" Lloyd asked. Naoto nodded. "Will you pick me up when I'm discharged…?" Lloyd asked with puppy-dog eyes._

"_Of course," the red-head laughed. Naoto waved and left the room._

_**XxX**_

Supreme: I am so sorry for leaving it here

Zane: sorry for the wait too

Supreme: and sorry it's so short… anyway, this'll probably be continued in the next chapter, but I'm not sure yet…

Zane: I have a feeling you're gonna have a lot of angry readers on your hands…

Supreme: I know; I know… I need to make an announcement before I close out soon:

**IMPORTANT**

_This story will be on a temporary hold, so I can post some long awaited updates on my other stories. Don't expect updates for this story for a… long time. If I can, I'll try and write the next chapter and try to post it in-between my other updates._

Zane: now about Naoto Kozuki and Lloyd Series…

Supreme: oh, yeah! Naoto Kozuki does not belong to me! He belongs to the anime Code Geass and Sunrise Studios. Kallen, Naoto's sister, also belongs to Code Geass and Sunrise Studios. I do, however, own Lloyd Series.

Zane: anyway, hope you guys can wait a while for updates

Supreme: I'm going on vacation in a few weeks, too, so I'm gonna be very delayed with updates for all my stories… like always…

Zane: anyway, REVIEW!

Supreme: yes! Love you guys. See ya later! I'll update as soon as I can! Sorry for any inconveniences!

Zane: what inconveniences?

Supreme: … REVIEW!

Zane: *facepalm*


	14. The Reason pt 2

Supreme: phew, sorry for the wait. I got distracted by school, other fiction, other anime, food, and… being super lazy… but here's the next chapter!

Zane: it wasn't as long as we anticipated…

Supreme: but it's here. Anyway, I don't own GX. Enjoy

Zane: this is part 2 of the flashback from the previous chapter

_**XxX**_

_As promised, Naoto came back for Lloyd after he was discharged. Janice was busy at work, so he took the liberty of bringing Jaden with him. As of this current moment (well, as current as a flashback can be), Naoto was driving his car with Jaden sitting the back and Lloyd up front with him. _

"_You've been awfully quiet there, Jaden," Naoto said. "Is everything alright?"_

_**You're worthless!**_

"_Jaden…?"_

_**Piece of trash!**_

_**No one loves you!**_

"_Jaden!" screamed Naoto as he grabbed the mentioned boy's shoulders. Jaden gasped and quickly looked around, finding that he was at his house._

"_You okay, little buddy?" Lloyd asked from behind Naoto. Naoto was sitting next to him with his hands on his shoulders. Lloyd was leaning against the frame of the car door._

"_What… what happened?" Jaden asked._

"_It doesn't matter, but we're at your house now. Lloyd and I are gonna keep an eye on you until your mom gets home, okay?" Naoto said. The small brunet boy nodded. Naoto sighed and unbuckled Jaden. The scared brunet stepped out of the car and quietly walked ahead of Naoto and Lloyd to his house._

"_I feel so bad for that little guy," Lloyd told Naoto quietly. "I really wonder who that guy was though…"_

"_Was it just me or did it seem like Jaden knew who beat him up?" Naoto asked, walking to the house._

"_Now that you mention it… yeah…" _

_After entering the house, Jaden sat quietly on the couch with his head low and his hands folded. His small feet dangled from the couch._

"_Can I get something to eat?" Lloyd asked, walking to the fridge._

"_Don't go snooping through other people's food!" Naoto chided, sitting next to the brunet child._

"_C'mon, his mom isn't gonna miss a few pieces of—"Lloyd paused to open and stare at the contents of the Yukis' refrigerator. "Hm… should I have a sandwich or chocolate?"_

"_Lloyd!"_

"_What?"_

"_He can have some food…" mumbled the youngest in the household._

"_Ha!" squeaked Lloyd before hiding his face back in the fridge to get sandwich supplies. Naoto rolled his eyes and turned to face Jaden, whose head was still low._

"_Are you sure you're okay with letting him have your food?" the more mature teen asked. Jaden nodded slightly. Naoto ruffled Jaden's hair and stood up. "Do you know when your mom gets home, buddy?"_

"_Usually at 3:15 at the earliest…" _

"_Do you mind if I look around?" Jaden shook his head. Naoto sighed and walked around. He glanced up at clock above the television set. _'It's 3:00 p.m. already so Jaden's mom should be here soon…'

_The red-haired teen looked around and saw a picture on the DVD shelf. It was a picture of Jaden and Janice smiling happily with another man with his arm around Janice, and Jaden in his left arm. He looked perfectly content with a wide smile on his face. He and the other two appeared to be laughing. _

_The man wore casual clothes and had deep green eyes. He had light brown almost dirty blonde hair that was a ruffled mess._

'Probably what they were laughing about,'_ Naoto thought as he picked up the picture frame. A slip of paper fluttered to the floor. Setting the frame down, Naoto bent down to pick up the paper. 'Jared Yuki: My first love… father of my child… greatest husband… Rest in Peace, my love,' Naoto read in his head. Naoto lifted the picture frame from the shelf again and placed the paper under it before setting it back down._

"_Hey, Naoto, do you think we could stop by the arcade later?" Lloyd asked with a half-eaten sandwich in his mouth as he tried to put the sandwich materials away._

"_Uh, not today, bro…" Naoto mumbled. He zoned out right when Lloyd was about to ask why. _'I always take my dad for granted and Jaden… doesn't have one… at such a young age, too…'

_Naoto looked around the lower shelves a little and saw another picture. Janice and a different man were standing with their arms around each other, smiling. Jaden wasn't in this picture. This man was ragged looking. Messy black hair, dark brown eyes, and maybe days of an unshaven face donned him. His clothes looked neat enough. Something about this man seemed familiar to the red-haired teen but what?_

"_Hey, Lloyd, come here, will ya?" Naoto asked his friend. _

"'_Sup?" asked Lloyd with the sandwich hanging out his mouth._

"_Does this guy look familiar to you?" Lloyd stared for a while._

"_Now that I think about it, he looks like the guy from the—"_

"_I'm home," Janice said, opening the door._

_Naoto and Lloyd stopped their conversation and looked at her._

"_Hi, Mommy," Jaden said, walking up to her. Janice picked his up after greeting him and kissed his cheek._

"_Sorry for snooping around…" Naoto said somewhat sheepishly._

"_I don't mind," Janice replied with a smile._

"_Sorry for eating your food…" Lloyd said __**very**__ sheepishly._

"_Again, I don't mind. It's the least I can do for the people who saved my son from whoever was hurting him in the alley."_

"_Ms. Yuki, if you don't mind me asking, but…" Naoto started._

"_What is it?" Janice asked._

"_Who is this?" He pointed to the man he presumed to be Jared._

"_Oh, he's my late husband… he was murdered two years ago. His killer was never found…"_

"_I'm so sorry…"_

"_No, it's fine."_

"_And, um… this…?" The teen pointed to the ragged looking man in the second picture._

"_He's my boyfriend, Elias. I haven't heard from him for a few days…"_

"_Would you say about the time Jaden was beat up in the alley?" Naoto pressed._

"_About that time, but I'd rather not talk about it…" Janice answered. "Well, I don't wanna keep you guys here when you could be doing something fun. You two can leave any time you want." Janice smiled and walked upstairs with Jaden still in her arms. Jaden looked over his mother's shoulder at them and waved good-bye. The two teens waved back with a smile._

"_Who did you say that guy looked like, Lloyd?" Naoto asked in a hushed tone after they left the house._

"_I was gonna say…" Lloyd started._

"_Well, spill it!" Lloyd sighed._

"… _He looked like the guy beating up Jaden."_

_**XxX**_

Supreme: cliffhanger!

Angry awaiting fans (so like… none): *throws random crap at me*

Zane: that was still really short…

Supreme: yeah, I know… hopefully, I can get a better one in soon… I just don't know when

Zane: anyway, please review


	15. The Reason pt 3

Supreme: Okay… I meant to postpone this…

Zane: Liar… You're just procrastinating.

Supreme: …. Yeah, sorry for the wait… please enjoy this chapter

Zane: At least we got something out before Christmas. Anyway, Supreme doesn't own GX or anything Yu-Gi-Oh! related

* * *

><p>"<em>Are you serious?" Naoto asked, baffled beyond belief.<em>

"_I am… Should we tell Janice?" Lloyd asked._

"_Well, yeah! She has a right to know!"_

"_But, Dude…" Naoto grunted in annoyance and ran back to the Yuki household. "Naoto, wait!" Realizing Naoto wouldn't listen, he ran after him._

"_Mrs. Yuki!" screamed Naoto. Janice turned around quickly after hearing the door slam open with the teen's voice echo through the house. "I—mphg!" Lloyd immediately slapped his hand over his friend's mouth._

"_Sorry, Janice, he's a little shaken about the incident, like you," he said nervously. Naoto glared at his best friend over his shoulder. "We'll see you later, okay?" The brunet walked out of the house with Naoto in tow._

_As soon as they were a block away from the house (with suspicious glances coming their way), Naoto flung Lloyd's hand off his mouth._

"_Why did you do that?!" he yelled._

"_Don't you think she's traumatized enough already?!" Lloyd barked. "Telling her that her __**boyfriend**__ was the one who beat up Jaden will crush her! The least we could do is look into this whole situation ourselves and see if he really is the one who beat him up."_

"_I guess I never thought about how Janice would feel…"_

"_Exactly, now come on."_

"_Where are we going?"_

"_We're gonna find Jaden's assailant."_

"_You actually sound smart when you say 'assailant.'"_

"_Shut up."_

_**XxX**_

"That's basically what Naoto and Lloyd have told me…" Jaden mumbled. "After that, my mom's boyfriend was found guilty because he really was the one who beat me up… He even admitted it…"

"Oh, Jaden, I'm so sorry…" Alexis said, hugging the boy close to her.

"It's not that bad really…"

"It is bad! Jaden, you need serious help if you think this isn't bad!" Jaden stood up abruptly, almost causing Alexis to topple over. The blonde stared up at him.

"I know it's bad, okay, Alexis?!" he snapped. "I want—no, _need_—to stay strong! People already see me as weak! I've tried to keep myself strong for everyone around me! I want others to feel strong—not _**worthless**_, like that man deemed me! I'm a Slifer, and the higher ups see me as a weak person! Maybe I am weak, but I want to keep up a mask that can maybe inspire others to move up in the ranks!"

Alexis stood up slowly and grabbed her childhood friend's shoulders.

"You don't need to keep up this façade all the time," she said softly. "Sometimes, it's okay to be weak. Right now… it's okay to cry." The unshed tears that welled in Jaden's eyes quickly cascaded down his cheeks. The mask he set up quickly broke and was replaced by the real face of Jaden Yuki. Alexis gathered him up in her arms and comforted him the best she could.

After several minutes, Zane walked up to them and spotted Jaden sitting on the ground, leaning on Alexis, who also sat on the ground and leaned on a tree behind them. The Obelisk sat across from them and looked at Alexis.

"Is he asleep?" he asked, his baritone voice echoing in the forest.

"Yeah, he cried himself to sleep," the younger teen replied. "I've never seen him so weak before… I never thought it was imaginable."

"Sometimes, people can put up the best masks and no one will ever realize it's fake. No one will realize they're broken on the inside. That person could be crushed, beaten, and battered emotionally and never shed a tear. They can seem foolish and weak, but sometimes… it's those people who are the strongest. And yet… they won't even know it." Zane stared at Jaden for a while.

"To be honest, he reminds me of myself at times. I used to be the goofball in my family. I was the idiot who got great grades but never listened. I was broken on the inside. You remember when my cousin died, right?" Alexis nodded. "I was completely shattered on the inside, yet I kept up a face of happiness and joy like nothing ever happened."

"Everyone was worried for you," Alexis whispered.

"I know, but I didn't want other to feel bad for me. I needed to be strong, not just for me but for my family and friends who knew my cousin and cared for him. I needed to be strong for everyone…"

"You know that it's unhealthy to bottle up your feelings like that."

"Yeah, whatever," Zane murmured, standing up. He kicked Jaden's stomach lightly, causing the Slifer to stir and turn away from Alexis. The blonde stood to her feet and brushed off her skirt. Jaden slid to the ground and hit the ground. He quickly woke from his nap and stood up.

"So when's the tag duel?" he asked like nothing happened. Zane and Alexis glanced at each other before staring at Jaden. "What?"

Zane shook his head and said, "Let's just go." He began walking toward the school.

"Dude!" Jaden yelled, running toward him to catch up. Alexis followed closely behind them.

"You sure recovered quickly," Alexis commented. Jaden looked back at her and shot her a cheeky smile.

"I have to keep up my mask, right?" he said. His childhood friend donned a slightly sad smile. Jaden gave an apologetic look to her and stopped walking until she was standing next to him. "Don't worry, Lex." Jaden threw his arm around the blonde. "I'll come to you when I need to cry."

"You really are hopeless, aren't you?" she said.

"What?" Alexis shook her head and started walking with Jaden walking closely next her as his arm was around her.

"But you love me anyway, right?"

Zane smirked at Alexis's now blushing face even if he couldn't see it.

Sure enough, the Obelisk female was blushing.

"You got a fever or what, Lex?" Jaden asked, feeling her forehead.

"I—I'm fine!" Alexis said, louder than she anticipated.

"No need to yell. I'm right here."

"Sorry, Jay…"

"You're a bit edgy now. Are you okay?"

"Jaden, I'm fine, alright?"

"Geez, snappy much," the brunet teased.

"Says the guy who was yelling not even ten minutes ago," his blonde companion reminded.

"I had a reason." Alexis rolled her eyes and pried Jaden's arm off of her shoulders.

"Will you leave me alone if I don't have a reason?" She continued walking without looking at Jaden for his answer.

"Nope!" the boy in question chirped.

'_He seems better now,'_ Alexis thought with a smile.

"Smiling because of my presence, right, Alexis?"

Shaking her head slightly, Alexis smiled and chided him, saying, "You shouldn't let whatever it is get to your head."

* * *

><p>Supreme: so yeah… sorry for the delay, but I've come across a new anime—<p>

Zane: and finished it

Supreme: … and I was reading Code Geass fanfiction, so yeah…

Zane: please review

Supreme: Don't worry! The review box does NOT bite! :D

_**REVIEW!**_


	16. Practice

Supreme: long time no see! *nervous laughter* so, um…

Zane: let's just get right to the story, eh?

Supreme: right! I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Zane: enjoy

_**XxX**_

"Who's in the duel?" Sheppard asked the three students currently in his office.

"I am," Jaden said in a tone that meant there was no room for arguments.

"And I as well," Alexis said, standing next to her childhood friend.

"Since I will not be in the duel, I will accept any punishment you have for me," Zane said, clenching his jaw. _'Getting in trouble __**sucks**__…'_

"Very well," Sheppard said, leaning back in his seat. He sighed and rubbed his bald head. "I never would have thought that my model students would do something so forbidden."

"I'm sorry to have let you down," the blonde girl apologized. The principal sighed again.

"No, I understand why you went. Your brother disappeared there, right?" Alexis nodded. Sheppard turned to the blue-haired male in the room. "But you disappointed me, Zane."

That stung him deep.

"I'm sorry, sir," Zane said, his voice shaking ever so slightly.

"I'll let it slide since it's your first offence." Sheppard leaned forward in his seat and stared the young adult in the eyes. "Promise me something, boy."

"Anything, sir."

"Try not to do this again."

"Of course, sir." Sheppard smiled and leaned back once again.

"You're dismissed." Zane bowed and promptly left to get to class. The bald man turned his attention back to the freshmen. "You two will be dueling for your right to stay here."

"Wait, what?!" Alexis asked. "I hope I'm misunderstanding, but please explain this to us."

"As you both should know, going to the Abandoned Dorm means expulsion. It means you two and Mr. Truesdale should have been expelled immediately—no questions asked. You are fortunate to be able to fight for your right to stay here," the chancellor of the prestigious academy explained to them.

"Wait, so what you're saying is…" Jaden started, "if Lex and I lose this duel…"

"… We could get expelled…?" his blonde companion finished for him. Sheppard nodded grimly. Jaden smiled widely.

"Then that won't be a problem!" he chirped. Alexis turned to him and gave him a look that he interpreted as _'how.'_ "We won't lose."

"How are you so sure?" Sheppard asked. The brunet grinned and jerked his thumb back toward himself.

"Look who's dueling!" he answered. The blonde Obelisk rolled her eyes. "There's no way we can lose! Plus, Alexis is dueling with me! We're like the perfect team!" The mentioned girl blushed lightly at her childhood friend's comment. "No matter who we go up against, we'll win and stay in this school!" Jaden swung his arm around Alexis's shoulder. "Right, Lex?"

"Yeah…" the blonde replied, still blushing. Jaden smiled, oblivious to Alexis' blushing.

"We'll make you proud, Chancellor Sheppard!" The mentioned man sighed. He could honestly say this was the first time a student was so enthusiastic about the chance of being expelled. He could probably throw in the fact that Jaden was a one-of-a-kind. He had never met anyone like the young brunet before him.

"I know you will whether you win or lose," the older man told him. Sheppard hoped that the two would stay in the academy. He was eager to discover more about the energetic Slifer.

"Hey, let's not bring up this losing business! You know as well as I do that we aren't gonna lose!"

"Well… we'll see…" The chancellor of the school sighed before turning around to face the window. "You two are dismissed." Jaden and Alexis bowed before leaving his office. Sheppard rubbed his face and sighed deeply. "You have great talent, Jaden… I just hope you won't screw this up. You may hold the key to protecting this school."

_**XxX**_

"Wait, explain again what's happening?" Syrus asked, panicked. Jaden sighed and leaned back in his desk chair. He turned around to face his roommate.

"Lex and I are gonna duel in front of the entire school for our right to stay here," he told them. The Slifer King shrugged. "There really isn't anything we can do. Chancellor Sheppard told us that we were lucky to even get a chance to fight for our right to stay here." Jaden turned his desk chair back around to continue working on his deck, which was spread on his desk.

"If you wouldn't have gone to the Abandoned Dorm then none of this would be happening!" the younger Truesdale screamed at him. "Why would even consider going! It said in the student handbook to _**not**_ go to the Abandoned Dorm, or else you'd get expelled!" His brunet roommate whipped around to face him.

"We have a student handbook?" he inquired. Syrus face-palmed and buried his face his pillow. "It's a legit question." The brunet shrugged and returned to his deck.

"The possibility of getting expelled is totally not licious!" Chumley piped in. Syrus nodded vigorously even if the target of their complaints couldn't see it. "When are you supposed to duel anyway?"

"It doesn't matter 'cause I'd win anytime, anyplace anyway," Jaden said. He gathered up his cards and put them back in his deck box. _Winged Kuriboh _floated above his head.

"_Kuri, kuri!"_ _Winged Kuriboh _chirped. Jaden stared up at him.

"I know, but it's still not gonna happen," he said.

"Uh, Jaden, who are you talking to?" Syrus asked. The boy-in-question turned around and faced him.

"My duel spirit," he answered nonchalantly.

"Um… okay then…"

"_Kuri, kuri, kuri!" _the duel spirit chirped angrily.

"Oh, c'mon, _Winged Kuriboh_! That's like saying Chazz will get demoted to Slifer Red! It's virtually impossible." The flying fur ball fumed and flew off toward the door. The owner of said fur ball turned quickly to watch as the spirit flew away. "Hey, where are you going?"

"_Kuri, kuri, kuri!"_ _Winged Kuriboh _said.

"Does that mean we get to duel someone?!" Jaden asked his duel spirit enthusiastically.

"_Kuri!_" the spirit answered happily. The Slifer King shot out of his seat excitedly and grabbed his duel disk and deck before darting out the door.

"Wait, Jay, where are you going?" his blue-haired roommate shouted to him.

"I'm gonna duel some people for practice! Wanna come?" Jaden asked, bouncing on his feet. Syrus shrugged and grabbed his deck before following after his friend.

"Wait, don't leave me here!" Chumley shouted after them. He ran after them as fast as he could. "Why do they always have to run?!"

_**XxX**_

"So when are you supposed to duel?" Mindy asked her blonde roommate. Alexis stopped sorting her deck to think.

"I think in a day or two, but I could be wrong," she answered. "I just need to know if I should rebuild my deck to work with Jaden's or if I should just leave it…" Before either Mindy or Jasmine could comment, a voice broke through their conversation.

"Alexis!" someone yelled before halting to a stop in front of the blonde. "We should duel right now!"

"Um… why? I was trying to sort out my deck," Alexis told him. Jaden kneeled down to where Alexis was sitting on the grass.

"We should duel: one, because it's fun and two, for practice!" he said. He looked at the cards on the grass. "Oh! I have something for you!" the brunet said, pulling something from his deck box. It was a card. "I bought a pack of cards earlier this week, and I found this. I knew I wasn't going to use it since I'm missing a card for it. I remembered your deck theme, and I thought you could use it in our upcoming tag duel. I hope you like it." Jaden handed the card to his childhood friend.

"Thanks, Jay," Alexis said, looking at the card. "You found this in a card pack?" Jaden nodded. "It's so powerful."

"What card is it?" Jasmine asked, trying to peer over her friend's shoulder to see. Alexis hugged the card to her chest, obscuring it from her roommate's vision.

"It's a surprise. I just hope I'll get to use it during our duel." Jaden smiled and grabbed Alexis's arm, hoisting her up as he stood.

"Let's go duel! I've wanted to duel you for a while!" he said to her. The Slifer slipped on his duel disk and stuck his deck in the holster. "C'mon, Lexi!"

"Alright, I'll duel you." Alexis grabbed her duel disk and slipped her deck into the holster. She stood across from him at a decent enough distance. "Are you ready?"

"Ha, I'm always ready for a duel! Get your game on, Lex!" Jaden yelled.

"I will, and I won't go easy on you!" Alexis shouted back.

"DUEL!" the two shouted. They drew their five starting cards.

"Ladies first," the Slifer King said, smiling.

"Thanks," the Ice Queen replied. "Draw!" She looked over her cards. "I think I'll start off with a monster in defense mode and a facedown, and I'll end my turn."

**Alexis's Field**

_LP – 4000_

_Hand – 4_

_Monster(s) – Facedown monster_

_Spell/Trap – 1 facedown(s)_

_Graveyard – 0_

_Card(s) Removed from Play – 0_

"Draw!" Jaden yelled, drawing a card from his deck. "Alright, I summon _Elemental Hero – Sparkman_** (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400)**! I throw down a facedown and attack your facedown monster! Go, _Sparkman_!" The electrically-charged hero shot up in the air and sent down a wave of sparks on the facedown monster. The hologram flipped over to reveal _Etoile Cyber _**(ATK: 1200 DEF: 1600)**. _Sparkman _returned back to Jaden's side, seeing as his attack had proved fruitless. "I guess I'll call it a turn."

**Jaden's Field**

_LP – 4000_

_Hand – 4 _

_Monster(s) – __Elemental Hero – Sparkman_

_Spell/Trap – 1 facedown(s)_

_Graveyard – 0 _

_Card(s) Removed from Play – 0_

"Draw! First, I'll switch _Etoile Cyber _to attack mode; then I'll summon _Cyber Gymnast_** (ATK: 800 DEF: 1800)**in attack mode!" Alexis said. The brunet dueling her tilted his head to the side, confused. He scratched the back of his head.

"Um, Lex, you _do_ know that neither of those monsters is strong enough to take down _Sparkman_, right?" he questioned. The blonde he questioned smirked.

"I know that, but wait until you see my next move!" she yelled. "I activate my gymnast's special effect! If I discard one card from my hand, I can destroy one attack position monster on your side of the field!" After discarding one card, _Cyber Gymnast_ jumped up and kicked Jaden's _Sparkman _in the face, destroying him. "And don't forget: that wasn't her attack!"

"Wait, what?!" Jaden yelled.

"Go, _Cyber Gymnast_!" The said monster jumped up again and kicked Jaden in the chest, taking eight hundred life points with her. Jaden screamed out in pain. "Next, my _Etoile Cyber_! And if she attacks you directly, her ATK points go up by six hundred!" _Etoile Cyber _skated up to Jaden before spinning around and kicking him in the face. Jaden fell on his back after the attack. "Now, I'll end my turn."

**Alexis's Field**

_LP – 4000_

_Hand – 3_

_Monster(s) – __Etoile Cyber, Cyber Gymnast_

_Spell/Trap – 1 facedown(s)_

_Graveyard – __Cyber Queen_

_Card(s) Removed from Play – 0_

The Slifer King heaved, trying to regain the breath that got knocked out of him. He stood up and drew his card. He smirked and looked up at Alexis. "I'll start by summoning my _Elemental Hero – Stratos _**(ATK: 1800 DEF: 300)**! I'll use his special effect too! He allows me to choose one _Elemental Hero_ from my deck and add him to my hand! I think I'll go with…" Jaden looked over his cards briefly before his eyes sparkled. "Aha! I pick my _Elemental Hero – Heat_** (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200)**! Next I'll activate my _Polymerization _to fuse my _Elemental Hero – Heat _and _Elemental Hero – Lady Heat_** (ATK: 1300 DEF: 1000)**to create…" Jaden discarded the required cards just as a giant ball of fire blasted from the ground behind the red coat. "… My _Elemental Hero – Inferno_** (ATK: 2300 DEF: 1600)**!" The Pyro hero flexed, forcing the red hot flames to disperse momentarily before gathering around him again. "Next I'll attack your _Etoile Cyber _with my _Stratos_!" The air hero shot up in the air and sent a gust of wind toward _Etoile Cyber_. The monster cried out before she got destroyed. Alexis raised her arm to block the scattered particles. She groaned as her life points depleted. "For my next trick, I'll attackyour _Cyber Gymnast_ with my new _Inferno_!" The giant fire creature sent an enormous ball of flames rocketing toward the gymnast.

"Sorry, Jay, but I can't let you do that!" Alexis said. "I activate my _Doblé Passé_!" Her signature trap card rose. "With this, your attack gets redirected to me, and my monster is safe!" The giant ball of fire came back around and unleashed its fury on the blonde. The Obelisk Queen cried out in pain as she was consumed in the fire. She dropped to her knees as Jaden ended his turn.

**Jaden's Field**

_LP – 1400_

_Hand – 2_

_Monster(s) – __Elemental Hero – Stratos, Elemental Hero – Inferno_

_Spell/Trap – 1 facedown(s)_

_Graveyard – __Elemental Hero – Sparkman, Elemental Hero – Heat, Elemental Hero – Lady Heat, Polymerization_

_Card(s) Removed from Play – 0_

"Lex, why would you do that?!" Jaden screamed, genuinely concerned about the mental wellbeing of his friend. "That was a big blow to your life points and just to save one monster! Are you mental?!"

"You'll find out why I did it in a second, Jay," Alexis told him, drawing her card. "First, I'll switch my _Cyber Gymnast _to defense mode, and I'll activate her effect! BY discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy one monster on your field! I'll make the obvious choice of your _Elemental Hero – Inferno_!" _Cyber Gymnast_ quickly ran over to the fiery beast and kicked it in the chest, destroying him.

"Oh, c'mon, he was only here for one turn!" the duel-loving red coat whined. He dropped to the floor and crossed his legs. "Why are you so cruel, Lexi?! I thought we were friends!" The Slifer fell on his back and grieved the loss of his new hero.

"You best get up, Jay, or you'll miss my next move." Excited, Jaden shot up and looked at her expectantly. He then remembered something and shot up to his feet.

"Before you do, I activate my trap card _Crevice into the Different Dimension_, which allows me to declare one attribute and choose up to two of those attributes and remove them from our graveyards! I choose warrior type!" he declared. He grinned, seeing Alexis's frustrated face. "I hope I won't foil any of your plans, but the cards I wanna remove from play are _Etoile Cyber _and _Cyber Queen_!" Alexis sighed in frustration as she placed the two cards back in her deck box. "You can go ahead with your move now."

"I'll throw down one card facedown and summon my _Cyber Tutu_! Since your hero's attack points are higher than my _Cyber Tutu_'s, she can attack you directly!" The newly summoned cyber skated up to Jaden and sent a kick flying toward him, slicing his chest with the blade. Jaden screamed and grabbed his chest. "With that, I'll end my turn."

**Alexis's Field**

_LP – 1100_

_Hand – 1_

_Monster(s) – __Cyber Gymnast, Cyber Tutu_

_Spell/Trap – 1 facedown(s)_

_Graveyard – Doblé Passé _

_Card(s) Removed from Play – __Etoile Cyber, Cyber Queen_

Jaden shook off his pain and shrugged his shoulders a few times before drawing his card. He looked at Alexis with the perfect poker face. "Lex…" he started. The mentioned blonde looked at him expectantly. The Slifer King's face broke out into a giant grin. "I just turned the tide of this duel." The Ice Queen internally panicked. "First, I'll throw down a facedown, and then I activate my _Monster Reborn_ to bring back my _Elemental Hero – Lady Heat_!" The ground broke open and fire blasted from the hole. The revived heroine soared up into the air and flew back down, ignoring the flames that surrounded her.

"I don't get it. How is one monster supposed to change the outcome of the duel?" Syrus asked, obviously confused. Jaden smirked and looked at Alexis heatedly.

"Just watch, bro," he said. "Now I'll attack your _Cyber Tutu _with my _Elemental Hero – Stratos_!" _Stratos _flew up in the air and sent gusts of wind toward the defenseless monster he was sent to attack.

"I activate my _Mirror Force_ trap card! It destroys all attack position monsters on your side of the field!" Alexis shouted, revealing her trap. Jaden laughed.

"You almost had me, Lex!" he said. "But I activate _my_ trap _Solemn Judgment_ to negate your trap by giving up half my life points!" Jaden revealed his trap thus negating Alexis's and bringing his life points to two hundred. _Mirror Force _shattered, and _Stratos_ continued his attack, destroying _Cyber Tutu_ and draining Alexis of eight hundred life points, leaving her at three hundred. "And I'll end my turn." _Stratos _returned to Jaden's side and crossed his arms. "Oh, and did I mention that for every _Elemental Hero _on my side of the field you take two hundred points worth of damage?" Jaden smiled widely. "_Lady Heat_, do your thing!" The mentioned heroine nodded and conjured two fire balls before whipping them full speed at Alexis, who dropped to her knees as her life points drained completely. "Ha-ha, that's game, Lexi!" Jaden said, shooting the blonde his signature pose. "Great duel!"

"Yeah, it was," Alexis said as her childhood friend walked toward her. The brunet offered a hand, and, naturally, Alexis accepted, allowing him to help her up. "I almost had you."

"No ya didn't."

"Yeah, I did. I had you down to four hundred."

"Wasn't it two hundred?"

"You gave up half your points so that doesn't really count."

"Yeah, well—"

"So are you two ready for your tag duel now?" Syrus asked, walking over to them. Alexis smirked at Jaden.

"I think we need one more duel," she said. The red-clad duel-lover returned her smirk with one of his own.

"I'm still gonna win," he said.

"Don't get cocky because that might be your downfall."

"You're only saying that 'cause you know I'd win." The two childhood friends continued their debate as they walked to the Slifer dorms.

_**XxX**_

Supreme: and that marks the end of the long awaited chapter sixteen!

Zane: What took so long anyway?

Supreme: … I plead the Fifth!

Zane: Fifth what?

Supreme: Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution!

Zane: oh, brother…

Supreme: anyway, sorry for the delay! I'm going to work on one of my other stories that is literally one or two chapters away from finishing! I'll finish that, and I'll try to shoot out chapter for this as fast as possible!

Zane: who knows if that will actually come true since it's 12:19 a.m.

Supreme: I'll try to keep up with this but no promises! Sorry, guys, if I got your hope up! I was wondering if I should continue this throughout season 4… I need your help! If I do, I'm going to break up the story into four arcs for each season, so the story doesn't stretch to like 100 something chapters. But yeah, just tell me what you think in your review or in a PM. I'd be happy to write it especially since summer is here!

Zane: we just have no idea how long it will be for each update, but it shouldn't be outrageously long like the last few have been.

Supreme: anyway, as always, review and keep me writing! If you have any ideas for the story, shoot me a PM, and we'll talk.

Jaden: _**REVIEW!**_

(Edit: 7/26/13 ~ I realized that messed up _Doblé Passé_'s effect, but I would have to re-do the entire duel, so I have to let it slide for now.)


	17. Deciding Duel

Supreme: I'm back, baby! I'm finally back! Yes, I'm not dead. But it's been an entire year…

Zane: oh, geez…

Supreme: Shut it! Anyway, I'm here with chapter…

Jaden: … thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen… Chapter seventeen!

Supreme: chapter 17! Who wants to do the disclaimer?

Jaden: me, me, me!

Zane: I'm gonna take a nap…

Jaden: **Supreme King of Awesomeness does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or any of its characters, and blah, blah, blah. ** Yeah, so… Enjoy

_**XxX**_

Alexis walked into the duel field nervously. She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to relax.

'_Don't worry, Alexis. You're not leaving Duel Academy. You're gonna fight for your right to stay. Plus, you have Jaden by your side,'_ the blonde thought. She smiled as she thought of the Slifer. She continued to think of anything to get her mind off of the possibility of expulsion.

"Rah!" someone yelled, wrapping their arms around her shoulders from behind. Alexis screamed and whipped around to face who it was. She sighed when she saw Jaden smiling widely at her. Alexis held Jaden's forearm and leaned against him.

"You scared me," she sighed. The Slifer King chuckled.

"That's what I was trying to do, silly!" he laughed. He placed his hands on Alexis's sides as he kissed her cheek. "You're _way_ too nervous! I thought I scare the nerves outta ya. Are you ready to duel?" The Ice Queen sighed and pulled away from him.

"Not really," she confessed. "What if we lose?" Jaden frowned and grabbed her forearms.

"What if we win? We get to stay here! We get to stay with all of our friends! Most of all, we won't be separated. If we lose, that means we go home. I go back to my home town that barely boarders Domino City, and you move back to Kyoto. Lex, we won't see each other again," he said seriously. His tone was dark and remorseful. His eyes glistened with tears. Alexis was shocked and held his forearms.

"Jaden…" she whispered. Jaden leaned forward.

"Alexis," he began in a hushed tone, "I'm not just fighting for our right to stay here. I'm fighting for us to stay together. I don't want us to be separated." Alexis nodded and hugged him tightly which he returned.

"I promise we'll win. Not just to stay here but to stay together," she whispered. They broke away from each other, and in a second, Jaden regained his bright smile.

"Sweetness! Now let's go kick some butt!" he cheered. Then he paused and looked around. "Is everyone here?" Alexis looked around too.

"Um… Oh! I see our friends over there!" she said, pointing to their group of friends gathered near the front. The two rushed over to them.

"Hey!" Syrus greeted, smiling. The other greeted them as well.

"Is everyone here?" Jaden asked, repeating his earlier question.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen Zane anywhere," the younger Truesdale answered.

"I think I heard something about him serving detention," Bastion said.

"I thought Chancellor excused him," Jaden murmured to Alexis.

"He _did _say that going to the Abandoned Dorm was punishable by expulsion, so I guess it was too big to excuse," the blonde answered quietly.

"I guess. Whatever, he's gonna miss one awesome duel!" Alexis rolled her eyes and sighed. Jaden slapped her arm, causing her to wince and clutch it tightly.

"Ow! What was that for?" Alexis demanded.

"I'm gettin' the nerves outta ya! I told you to chill, so _chill_," the brunet stated. The hazel-eyed girl frowned and rubbed her arm.

"You didn't have to hit me so hard," she mumbled. The Slifer threw his arm over her shoulder before smiling at her.

"Are you chill?" Alexis giggled.

"I'm chill."

"You're chill?"

"I'm chill."

"Maybe you need a coat," Jaden joked. Everyone looked at him, confused. The brown-eyed male turned to them. "She said she was chill. Chill is cold. Maybe she needs a coat, so she's not cold." Everyone shook their heads and laughed.

"I don't get it," Syrus stated. Well… mostly everyone…

"Ah, never mind, Sy," Jaden sighed, sweat-dropping. Then Crowler began speaking. "Let's go," Jaden whispered to Alexis as the overly effeminate man announced them onto the stage. The two students made their way onto the stage.

"And their opponent is the one and only," Crowler screeched, "_Zane Truesdale!_"

Everyone who knew of the Abandoned Dorm incident's eyes widened dramatically.

'_What?!'_ was the only thought running through their heads. True to his word, the one and only top student of DA walked calmly onto the stage. His face wore its typical stoic Zane expression. He walked to the middle of the field, staying as expressionless as ever. The two younger teens met him in the middle with extremely confused expressions donning their faces.

"Dude, what's going on?" Jaden hissed at him. He, along with Alexis and Zane, traded decks with each other to shuffle.

"I have to duel you two. If you guys win, you stay," the older male answered.

"And if you win?"

"I stay."

"Wait," Alexis interrupted, causing both boys to turn to her, "what happens if you lose?" Zane shook his head.

"I don't know," he confessed.

"Take your places!" Crowler commanded. The three students made their way to their designated area. They threw their decks into their duel disks and activated them.

"DUEL!" they shouted.

"I'll start!" Jaden yelled, drawing his card. "I think I'll start off with _Elemental Hero – Clayman_ **(ATK: 800 DEF: 2000) **in defense mode! I throw down a face down and end my turn."

**Jaden and Alexis's Field**

_LP – 8000_

_Hand – 4 (Jaden); 5 (Alexis)_

_Monster(s) – __Elemental Hero – Clayman_

_Spell/Trap – 1 facedown(s)_

_Card(s) Removed from Play – 0_

"My turn!" Zane yelled, drawing his card. He smirked. "This duel isn't starting out very well for you!" He pulled a card from his hand and showed it to them. "I special summon my _Cyber Dragon_ in attack mode!" The blue-eyed teen slammed the card onto his disk, standing calmly as the cyber beast arose from the ground behind him, causing his uniform coat to flare out. The enormous beast screeched at the two younger duelists. "Now, attack _Elemental Hero – Clayman_!" _Cyber Dragon_ flew up, conjured up a powerful laser beam, and aimed it at _Clayman._ The hero grunted before it was blown to bits.

"I activate _Hero's Counterattack_! Since my _Clayman _was destroyed in battle, you have to randomly pick a card in my hand," Jaden said. He held up his hand, showing Zane the backs of his cards. The blunet pointed at his cards.

"I choose the one on the far right," he said. The Slifer was about to show him the card before Zane stopped him. "The other right!"

"My right or your right?"

"My right!" Zane shouted. Jaden shook his head with a smile.

"You should have said my right. This isn't good for you. Since you picked another _Elemental Hero_, your _Cyber Dragon _is destroyed, and I get to summon my hero!" The Obelisk male remained unmoving as his monster was destroyed. Jaden frowned. "At least, pretend to flinch or something. Anyway, go, _Elemental Hero – Sparkman_!" Sparks flew as the electrical hero made his way onto the stage.

"Thanks, Jay. Because you destroyed my _Cyber Dragon_, I get to special summon my _Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon_ **(ATK: 2200 DEF: 110) **from my hand!" Zane countered. Massive thorns emerged from the ground. An enormous purple dragon covered in thorns broke out from them. Indigo flames flowed steadily on its back. It hissed at Jaden and Alexis, revealing its silver spiked tongue.

"Interplanetary what?" the brunet Slifer questioned. Zane shrugged.

"I surprised myself by saying that right," he said. "Anyway, it's still my battle phase, so attack!" The thorny dragon rose up and beat its wings, firing thorns at the hero. _Sparkman _was destroyed, and Jaden's life points dropped.

**2200 – 1600 = 400**

**Jaden & Alexis – 7600 **

"I'll place a card face-down, and I end my turn," Zane finished.

**Zane's Field**

_LP – 8000_

_Hand – 3_

_Monster(s) – __Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon_

_Spell/Trap – 1 facedown(s)_

_Card(s) Removed from Play – 0_

"I guess it's my turn then," Alexis stated, drawing her card calmly. Her Slifer companion groaned next to her, causing her to look over at him. "What?" she questioned.

"Ya gotta have some flare when you duel, Lex!" the Slifer shouted. "You just drew the card like, 'eh,'" Jaden mocked Alexis drawing a card calmly, "but you gotta be dramatic! Have some flare! For example," the brunet flared out his hand and shouted, as if he were activating a trap card. "You know what I mean?" Alexis simply stared at him before shaking her head.

"You are entirely new brand of stupid," she said. Jaden gaped at her mockingly, feigning offense. Zane cleared his throat loud enough for the other two to hear. They turned to him. "Sorry, we're taking so long," the blonde said.

"No, I was gonna say he's right. Our duel is a bit of a show right now. Add a bit of flare to your performance," the older student said.

"Oh, like you're one to talk!" Alexis accused. Zane held up his hands in mock surrender.

"I'm just saying," he muttered. Jaden held up his hand in Zane's direction.

"And what he's saying is true," he said. Alexis turned to Jaden and bit her lip to prevent from saying anything she would regret.

"Don't even start, Jaden. I swear to you…"

"You swear to me, what?" the Slifer teased, seeing how far he could push the Ice Queen. "I'm curious, you swear to me what?"

"Jaden, I do not recommend testing her patience," the Obelisk male yelled from across the dueling field. Jaden looked over at him while Alexis was content in trying to burn holes into her friend's skull. "I did that once and ended up with a few broken bones." The brunet whipped his head around to face Alexis, who now had her arms crossed and weight rested on one leg. "For your safety," hollered Zane, regaining attention, "do not provoke her. Let her make her move, and we can all go home happy, yeah?" The younger male nodded and looked to Alexis to finish her turn.

"Now I feel like I have to make some grand move with all that drama that came before it," she commented.

"That would be recommended," Jaden stated. Alexis giggled.

"Well, it's not because I'll place one monster face-down and throw down a face-down. That's it for me," she said.

"We can't just play defense the whole duel!" Zane slapped his face with both hands. Did they not just discuss provoking each other? He sat down and rested his hand in his fist.

**Jaden and Alexis's Field**

_LP – 7600_

_Hand – 3 (Jaden); 4 (Alexis)_

_Monster(s) – one face-down monster(s)_

_Spell/Trap – 1 facedown(s)_

_Card(s) Removed from Play – 0_

"I'm not gonna attack his Interplanetary—whatever the heck it is no matter how much you want me to!"

"Why not? I'm sure you've got something! Your deck is awesome so why wouldn't you have something to knock it on its butt?"

"Because I don't have a monster with over 2200 attack points that I can summon without a sacrifice!"

"Zane had something."

"News flash: I don't have Zane's deck."

"I bet you wish you did."

"I'm proud of my deck because I built it, just like you're proud of your deck because you built it."

"I am, but—what the heck is Zane doing?" The two freshmen, along with the rest of the stadium turned to the older Obelisk senior who was busy lying on his back, blowing bubbles.

"I'm waiting for you two to quit arguing like a married couple," he said after blowing another round. Alexis blushed in embarrassment while Jaden merely crossed his arms in confusion.

"Where'd you get the bubbles?" he asked. The blonde slapped her face.

"Un-freaking-believable… of all the things to ask," she muttered.

"I always carry some with me just in case things like this happen," Zane answered, standing up. He closed the cap on the bubble soap container and stuffed it into his pocket. "Now, are you two done?"

"Go ahead," Alexis groaned.

"Good," Zane said, drawing his card.

"Where's your flare?" Alexis mocked.

"Don't start." The blunet glared at her playfully. He activated his face-down. "I activate _Monster Reborn_ to bring back my _Cyber Dragon_!"

"Let me stop you right there, Zane!" the Obelisk Queen yelled, holding up her hand. Her facedown card activated revealing her trap. "This beauty is called _Curse of Darkness_. Now what happens is that whenever a Spell Card is activated, the controller of that card takes 1000 LP of damage!" Zane's LP meter dropped by 1000. "But you can still use it." _Cyber Dragon _rose up behind its master with an unforgiving screech.

"Attack, _Cyber Dragon _and _Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon_! Man, that is a _mouthful!_" Zane yelled. Alexis's face-down monster flipped over but was destroyed all the same. The two younger duelists slid back from the direct hit.

**Jaden & Alexis – 5400 **

**Zane's Field**

_LP – 7000_

_Hand – 4_

_Monster(s) – __Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon__, __Cyber Dragon_

_Spell/Trap – 0_

_Card(s) Removed from Play – 0_

"I'll end with that," the blue-eyed duelist stated.

"My turn! Draw!" yelled the Slifer. He turned to Alexis. "See, Lex, that's how it's done." The blonde shook her head but smiled. "Now… wow, this sucks… I'll throw down a face-down, summon my buddy _Winged Kuriboh, _and end my turn."

**Jaden and Alexis's Field**

_LP – 5400_

_Hand – 2 (Jaden); 4 (Alexis)_

_Monster(s) – __Winged Kuriboh_

_Spell/Trap – 1 facedown(s), __Curse of Darkness_

_Card(s) Removed from Play – 0_

"My turn!" yelled the Ice Queen, drawing her card. "How's that for flare?" she asked, turning to her partner. Jaden did a so-so motion. Alexis rolled her eyes.

"Actually, let me stop you right there!" The brown-eyed freshman activated his face-down. "I activate _Draw Reset Battle_! Now we all draw one card." All three duelists drew the top card from their decks. "Here's the catch: if we don't use the card we drew by the end of the turn, we lose. Simple as that, easy-peasy lemon-sqeezey."

"Where did you get a card like that?" Zane hollered, placing his card in his hand.

"I found it on the floor yesterday," Jaden confessed. He flipped one card in his hand over and showed it to the older male. "I activate _Transcendent Wings!_ I send my remaining two cards from my hand to the grave, and I can trade in my _Winged Kuriboh_ for a _Winged Kuriboh Lv 10_! How's _that_ for flare!" _Winged Kuriboh_ cooed as it slowly disintegrated. A large flash was seen as _Winged Kuriboh Lv 10_ appeared in its place. Jaden and Alexis's lifepoints dropped by 1000.

**Jaden & Alexis – 4400 **

"Now I activate _Card Destruction_! I'm sure you know what this does," Alexis smirked. Her lifepoints dropped by 1000.

**Jaden & Alexis – 3400 **

"You suck!" Zane yelled childishly, discarding his hand. "So this means I lose, right?" The two freshmen laughed and nodded. The blunet sighed and said calmly, "My reign is over. I suppose even the best fall."

"That duel sucked. I was hoping for a big climactic finish, but then you go and lose!" Jaden pouted at the older student as he walked over to them.

"Kinda your fault for activating that trap," the Obelisk King pointed out, locking the Slifer in a headlock. "You and Lex make a good team though," he said as Jaden laughed and flailed under his grip.

"Wait," Alexis said, walking over to the wrestling two, gaining their attention, "what happens to you now, Zane?"

"Well," Sheppard said, walking over to them on the stage.

"I'm expelled, right?" Zane said, releasing Jaden from his grip.

"No way! You can't expel him!" the Slifer protested. He got pulled into yet another headlock by the Obelisk Blue in an attempt to keep him quiet.

"Heavens, no," Sheppard said.

"Then what?" Alexis asked cautiously. Crowler himself was on the edge of his seat, dreading to hear the outcome of his favorite student.

"Zane," Sheppard sighed, "I'm sorry to inform you… you have been demoted to Slifer Red."

"Slifer Red?!" Crowler shrieked.

"_**Slifer Red?!**_" the entire stadium roared after hearing Crowler.

"Gotcha!" Jaden shouted, flipping Zane onto his back. The older student grunted but smiled slightly.

'_I'm back home,'_ he thought longingly.


	18. Moving In

**Supreme: **hey, guys, sorry for all these long waits in between chapters. Life has been majorly kicking my butt. Any of you who follow my other stories, I'm sorry to say that I did, in fact, delete _Is This Fate?_ There was a lot in there that I wasn't particularly proud of. Also, _Starting a New Life_ will be updated, but not in the near future. Life has been hard lately, and I hope dearly that you can be patient with me. This fic I plan on cutting shorter than I had originally planned. I will continue it to the end of season 1 or maybe even sooner. It all depends. Anyways, thanks for reading this. I won't keep you any longer. Please enjoy this latest installment of _You're Mine Twice_.

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. All rights belong to its respectful owners.**_

_**XxX**_

Dropping his bags by his feet, Zane looked up at the dilapidated building before him. The corner of his lips twitched upward. This place barely changed since he lived there. It still felt like home. He hoisted up his bags again and trekked up the stairs. He scanned the door numbers to find his new dorm. He set one of his bags down and rifled through his pocket to find his room key. A chipped mahogany strip of hard plastic hung from an old scratched key. _Room 210_, it read. Zane read the numbers on the door another time and found his room number crudely painted on the second to last door. Coincidentally, his new dorm was right next to Jaden and Syrus's room. He picked up his bags and walked to the front of his door. Setting his bags down once again, Zane inserted the key in the door lock and twisted. A soft click reached his ears. When he pushed on the door, it barely shifted. Pressing his left shoulder against the door, Zane pushed, but the door refused to move. Huffing, he backed up until he hit the railing behind him.

"Here goes nothing," he murmured. Steeling himself, Zane rushed and body slammed the door, using his full weight. Instead of remaining still like he had expected, the wooden structure broke off of its hinges, sending it and Zane flying into the room. "You're kidding me…" he groaned, rolling off of the door. He stood up, dust making obvious streaks in his black shirt and pants.

After literally tossing his luggage into the room, the exhausted teen pulled out the swivel chair from his desk and dropped himself on it, ignoring the sounds of protest that it screamed. On his desk he found a white and red uniform folded neatly with a card on top. He picked up the card and held it to where he could read it clearly.

_To Zane Truesdale,_

_ Welcome to the Slifer Red dorms! We're sorry for your demotion, but we are more than happy to have you among us! We hope you will grow accustomed to living here. We hope you will form new memories here, and your stay with us will be enjoyable!_

_Sincerely,_

_Slifer Red_

He smiled slightly. _'Cute,'_ he thought. Tossing the card aside, he picked up the jacket, jerking it down to unfold it. He slipped it on and smoothed out any wrinkles. "I could get used to this," he said, smirking. He removed the garment and laid it on the table after moving the pants to the side. Digging through his duffel bag, he pulled out his pack of sharpies, dumping them on the desk. "Time to have some fun," he commented, cracking his knuckles. He rolled closer to the desk and uncapped a sharpie.

"Wow, it didn't even last the day. Geez, Sy, your bro is _rough_," a cheery voice commented from the doorway. "Hey, Zane! Sy and I came to visit!" At the mention of his name, Zane looked up and whipped his head to the new occupants of his room: Jaden and Syrus.

"Salute, ce mai faci?" he asked, accidentally slipping into his native tongue.

Jaden nudged Syrus and muttered, "Any idea what that babble was?"

"He said, 'Welcome, how are you?'" Syrus translated, looking up at his roommate. Zane was too occupied to take note of their exchange.

"Oh! Well, I'm pretty good!" Jaden chirped, bounding over to the distracted upperclassman. "Whatcha doin'?" Zane leaned back and set his sharpie to the side.

"I've been working on it for an hour," he mentioned after glancing at the digital clock on his desk. "Whaddaya think?"

The project that occupied an hour of the senior's time was the back of his new Slifer uniform. It was littered with details and designs, heavily contrasting the typical bland white Slifer uniform. Abstract designs ran up and down the sides. Flame outlines rose from the bottom, coming up about a third of the length of the jacket. It wasn't colored with the usual red but instead filled with more abstract, contrasting details drawn on by a black sharpie. The main feature of the jacket would probably be the realistic drawing of what appeared to be the head and neck of Slifer the Sky Dragon. Its mouth was opened as if it were preparing to attack. The Slifer drawing, being the only decoration on the makeshift canvas that was colored, was detailed with its signature red, honoring the dorm it represented. In an unoccupied area in the left close to Slifer's head, Zane's signature graced the space.

"Holy smokes, man, this is totally rad!" Jaden praised. Syrus walked up next to him and observed the jacket. He was in complete awe at the intricacy of the artwork. "And in an hour?" asked Jaden, still totally marveled. "Dude, this is insane!" He clapped Zane's shoulder. Zane smiled slightly.

"Check out the sleeves. Both of them probably took an hour too," he said.

On the left sleeve was a tribal-designed dragon that wrapped around the sleeve. The head of it rested just short of the shoulder, and its tail stopped at the wrist above the button of the sleeve. The wings nearly met end to end on the bicep area of the sleeve. On the right was the Skyrim logo resting on the shoulder. Under it was the Japanese Kanji symbol for _courage_. Under that was the symbol for _happiness._ The right sleeve was relatively plain compared to the left.

Zane flipped over the jacket and closed it, showing off the designs on the front. "I did this one first and waited for it to dry before I did the back," he said.

Along the front were mostly sayings in various languages written in the same elegant script. All of them in languages Jaden couldn't read or even guess the meaning. On top right read _"Nu te teme! Dumnezeu este cu tine!" _in near perfect calligraphy. Under it was written _"Non timebo mala."_

"Hey, Zane, what do these say?" Jaden asked, pointing at the two sentences. The older teen leaned forward and pointed to the first sentence.

"That says, 'Never fear! God is with you!' in Romanian," he translated. He pointed to the second one and said, "This one says, 'I fear no evil' in Latin." Jaden nodded and continued reading.

"_Aimer tout le monde" _was scrawled just above the red border of the jacket with "_Vertraue niemandem_" above it, leaving a gap between the top two sentences and the bottom two. It was filled with a tribal-designed dragon, shooting a stream of flames from its mouth*. The left side was blank apart from something written at the top.

"'Love everyone. Trust no one,'" Zane spoke. "French and German respectively."

"How 'bout this one? What's this one?" the younger student asked, pointing to the writing on the left. The new Slifer leaned forward to examine what he was pointing to before smiling warmly.

"It says, _'Te iubesc.'_ It means 'I love you,'" he explained.

"Why's the whole side blank?"

"I left it that way so that people who love me can sign it. I don't mean romantic either. I mean like a family or close friendship kind of love." Jaden grinned widely.

"Then can I be the first to sign it?" he asked giddily. Zane snickered and looked at him.

"You love me?" he questioned.

"Duh!" the brunet all but yelled. The older teen handed him a red sharpie.

"Then by all means," he said. Jaden cheered, uncapping the marker. He scribbled his signature under _Te iubesc_, taking up less space than Zane had originally anticipated.

"Here, Sy," Jaden said, holding the marker out for the shortest of the three to take. He pointed to himself, almost disbelieving.

"M—me?" he stuttered. His roommate laughed and tossed the marker to him, which he barely caught.

"You love your brother, don't you?" Syrus looked to Zane as if asking permission.

"Do you love me?" his brother asked.

"Of course, if I do…" Syrus near whispered. Zane smiled warmly at him and ruffled his hair.

"Sy, I'd be honored if you'd sign." The shorter teen's eyes widened.

"R—really?" he asked. Zane nodded and gestured to the jacket. Syrus grinned ear to ear and excitedly signed his name next to Jaden's.

"Knock, knock, hope I'm not interrupting anything," a voice called from the doorway. All three boys looked in the direction of the new voice. Standing there with her hand held up in a form of greeting was none other than Alexis Rhodes.

"Hey, Lex!" Jaden called, waving. The brothers simply waved.

"You haven't even been here a day, and you've already broken down the door," Alexis stated, walking in after greeting Jaden. The guilty party shrugged and offered her an unashamed smirk. Promptly after such, an uncapped sharpie entered her line of vision. She grabbed it, getting pushed from behind immediately after. Looking behind her, she saw Jaden with a smile lacing his features. "Jay, what are you…?"

"You love Zane, right?" he asked. Alexis raised a brow questioningly.

"Yeah, but I don't—"

"Then sign this!" He pointed to a blank space on the decorated Slifer jacket. "Zane's collecting signatures of people who love him! You love him so sign it!" She looked to the owner of the jacket with a look that near demanded an explanation.

"You don't have to if you don't want to" was all he offered her. She sighed and looked at what Jaden was pointing to. '_Te iubesc,'_ she read mentally. _'Oh, yeah, that means 'I love you' in Romanian, doesn't it?'_ She smiled and signed her name under what she guessed to be Jaden's name. "What possessed you to do all this?" she questioned, referring to the designs littering the brand new blazer. She capped the marker and tossed it into the pile along with the other ten million sharpies scattered on the desk.

"It was rather plain," Zane stately blandly. He shrugged and said, "I actually did this the last time I was in Slifer. It wasn't this extravagant—or this good—the last time." He sat silently, seemingly unaware of the heavily pregnant pause. "I wanted… to send this to Sami. I want her to sign it," he spoke.

"Zane…" Alexis breathed.

"Who's Sami?" asked Jaden, oblivious to the tension in the room. "Is she your girlfriend back home?"

Zane pursed his lips and scratched his jaw. "Not quite. She and I are—were, rather—best friends. We haven't spoken since my older sister Riley died." He paused, swallowing the lump forming in his throat. He let out a humorless chuckle. "Those two—you couldn't separate them. They were joined at the hip, so to speak. We were all pretty close—Sami, Shan, Riley, and I. But nothing—nothing in the world—could ever break the bond Sami and Riley had."

"Zane," Alexis spoke with more conviction. Her voice wavered as she tried to curb her emotions. "Stop. Don't put yourself through that. It's over, and none of it was your fault."

Shaking his head, Zane said, "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry." He turned to Syrus and pulled him into a hug. Syrus flinched, unused to this sort of affection. "Oh, Sy," Zane whispered. "I should've been there for you. I wasn't, and I should've been."

"It's okay—"

"No, it isn't. I'll treat you better from now on. I should've comforted you instead of leaving your side. What kind of brother am I…?" Zane wondered, asking himself. He pulled himself away from Syrus and forced a smile for the younger's sake, ruffling Syrus's hair affectionately. He redirected his attention back to Alexis. "I didn't mean for this to get so heavy to be honest," he laughed, leaning back in his chair. The blonde let out a laugh of her own.

"I'll call Sami and make sure her address is still the same or get the new one if it isn't the same," she said.

"Thanks." Zane let out a loud huff and forced the chair back slightly, glancing at the door. "Now what to do about the door…?"

"Dude, that's a lost cause," Jaden spoke.

_Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!_

Being the light sleeper she was, Alexis was easily roused from her slumber when her PDA vibrated on her nightstand. It continued to do so for what felt like an eternity but was probably only a minute. She groaned and forced herself into a sitting position, grabbing the device. _'Zane?'_ she questioned after reading the Caller ID. She yawned, hitting accept on the call. Before she could even utter a greeting, frantic cries flooded from the other line in a different tongue. While she did understand Romanian and Italian, she could barely make out a single word in the torrent of speech. "Wait, wait, wait!" she hissed, careful not to wake her roommates. She stood and walked to the bathroom. She shut the door and sat on the toilet seat. Rubbing her forehead—why would he yell at such an ungodly hour?—she asked him, "Zane, what's wrong? Start over, preferably in one language."

"_Please, come over,"_ he said. Alexis furrowed her brows when she heard him clearly. It sounded as if he were gasping. _"Please, Alexis, come over right now."_ His voice was hoarse. Was he crying? No, crying wasn't right. He sounded like he was in the middle of sobbing.

"Zane, what—"

He cut her off with a phrase that she hadn't heard him say in years.

"_I'm sorry."_

_**XxX**_

***** art/Charizard-Firestorm-COMMISSION-142342166)

**So this was a Zane-centric chapter, in case you couldn't tell lol. Again, sorry for taking so long to update this! Life has really not been kind to me. I'll try to update this more frequently, but I can't make any promises with my schedule being so busy nowadays. Hopefully, I've left you wanting more. Also, where Zane says, "I'm sorry" at the end, if he's said that before somewhere in this story, that's because the tone Zane was using when he said it in the last sentence was with so much sincerity and conviction, etc. that that is really what Alexis hadn't heard in years—Zane saying that in that tone. I apologize if that wasn't clear. **

**So yeah! Hopefully, I can update this more frequently! Zane is a character that has interested me quite a bit; so I'd really like to delve into his history a bit as well as his friendship with Alexis. It's obvious they're pretty close in the show so I'd love to portray this in this story!**

**Since I've been gone, have you guys noticed my writing has improved a bit? LOL.**

**Anyway, take a few seconds to drop a review! Thanks for reading!**


End file.
